


Too Close To Love You

by stylescoalition



Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Age Difference, Daddy Kink, Developing Friendships, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Implied Relationships, M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love, Romance, Size Difference, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, aka i was offended at the lack of hundarhd fics and took matters into my own hands, so i wrote a 200k hundarhd slow burn, they say to create the content you wish to see in this world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 00:38:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 214,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16943718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylescoalition/pseuds/stylescoalition
Summary: Aleks used to have a big crush on Brett but he doesn’t anymore, which is great considering they work together, on top of being good friends (suuuper lit). Now, Aleks is going to be living with Brett  in LA until he finds a place of his own, but just because he isn’t crushing on Brett doesn’t mean that Brett isn’t crushing on him. Suffice to say, it makes things complicated… except it really isn’t as complicated as they think.





	1. Let Me Show You The World

**Author's Note:**

> Allow me to preface: NONE of this is real. All of this is entirely fictional and in no way are they actually together. 
> 
> Anyways, WOW, this is finally being published!! After working nearly nonstop since the beginning of July, I finished this 200k+ behemoth and honestly? It's my pride and joy. I have went through with a fine comb to make it as great as I could, because I want this to be a HundarHD fanfiction that EVERYBODY will like, whether you ship it or not. This fanfiction is also the reason why I haven't been publishing many one shots as of lately - I've been striving to get this whole fanfiction done, which also means that you don't have to worry about a hiatus. I try to stay true to real life as much as I can but I do take liberties here and there so a few things can fit.
> 
> This will be updated every Monday, at 7 PM EST, and there'll even be a few double upload weeks thrown in here and there. I wanted to make sure this fic was finished before I published it because I don't want to leave anybody hanging. I wanted it to be great and it is!! At least, I think so LOL. So without further ado, here it is... and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it, because it was the best fun of my writing life :')
> 
> There's also a Nifty little soundtrack to go with the fic and I consciously chose the songs to fit the chapters and general tone. If you're into that sort of thing, you can click the following link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6m0RMLCk5q1LnZn3yPOn2m
> 
> Special shoutout to my awesome friends, @ItsDaRiddler and @hungryimmortal on Twitter for reading my fic and helping me edit and giving me their thoughts! They helped make this fic what it is and I love them with all my heart!! @hungryimmortal also creates some amazing Cow Chop fanart so do check them out when you have the time~

**** **March 14th, 2017**

 

There are a lot of things in Aleks’ life that he wishes he could have - a consistent, steady flow of income, a big, strong man to wrap him up in his big, safe arms, and that lavish apartment in Hollywood he had signed a lease for a month or two ago.

It’s a beautiful place in the most vibrant part of California and it’s a block away from a liquor store and tattoo parlor, two of Aleks’ many favorite things. The apartment complex is well maintained and taken care of with all the luxury facilities you can think of, like a work out area and a lovely gated enclosure for the pool, two things out of many that Aleks’ current complex doesn’t have. For somebody who’s about to move to California in a few weeks, Aleks is very excited… or he was, until he reads over the email from his landlord.

Again. And again. And again, until it fully sinks into his mind that the apartment is no longer his thanks to a very persistent buyer, who seems to have money to just throw away and admittedly, Aleks would dish out something similar but YouTube has been real stingy in regards to that so as far as he’s concerned, he’s a broke ass boy. Not to mention Cow Chop is _just_  now beginning to make a good profit, but then that’s the reason they’re all moving to Los Angeles.

 

“Where am I even supposed to stay now?” Aleks asks alone to himself, scrunching his face and coughing into his arms afterwards. He breathes in deeply, as much as he can with his congested nose and coughs lightly. “This is fucking stupid, dude.”

Maybe if he emails his landlord back and tells him that he’s the illegitimate child of Vladimir Putin and he better do what he wants… unless his landlord is super patriotic, then Aleks will probably be banned from even going near the complex. Best not to chance it.

Aleks reads over the email one more time before he tosses his phone onto the coffee table with a groan. He presses his hands over his face and runs them downwards in exasperation, grimacing when he feels the snot on his hands. He reaches over for the tissues to wipe off his hands and squeezes out a good dollop of sanitizer for extra measure.

So on top of being incredibly sick, he now has under a month to find a new place to move into by the time the whole group moves to LA. At the very least, he’s coming off his sickness and all the really icky stuff is over with, about fucking time too because it’s been like this ever since he and everybody else went to Boston for PAX East last week.

The only reason Aleks managed to hang on through it all was because of one man, one beacon of consistent hope in particular...

* * *

**Rewind: March 9th, 2017**

 

Aleks aims his camera to film through the glass doors of the Dunkin’ Donuts and he looks through the lens, thankful for the zoom in so he can see what kind of ruckus his friends will cause in there.

Boston is incredibly cold this time of year and the downtown area is covered in snow. It piles up on the edges of the sidewalk but there are still sheets of it lining the walkways, once white but are now gray as the dirt ruins their perceived perfection. The snow is falling steadily and adds to the piles, as well as covering the buildings, and then Aleks’ outfit. The snowflakes etch a new pattern as they lay upon the fabric but it’s also a small, piercing chill that makes Aleks’ body shiver.

Aleks was born in the cold though so he can handle it. What’s the worst that can happen? He gets sick?

Although it would be nice to go in real quick and grab a hot cup of coffee, he has to film Trevor’s “vacation” - he can wait until they return to the hotel anyways! Aleks is a big boy now! An adult male! An adult male with responsibilities who can take care of himself!

 

Aleks snorts when Trevor harshly swipes away the cash from James and now he wants to be in there so he can experience the absurdity of his friends from up close but there’s a strange peace that comes with being by himself. It gives him time to think and gather his thoughts, and he has many.

It’s kind of crazy how without James, Aleks wouldn’t be here right now. Hell, _Cow Chop_ wouldn’t be here right now.

They wouldn’t be in Boston filming a dumb skit a day before they all go to PAX to continue promoting their new channel, which is quickly overshadowing the previous one they were apart of - the Creatures, which will definitely not be missed. It was scary to leave at first but everything is coming up pretty great for all of them. It’s great to have creative freedom again and he gets to do it with all of his friends.

Aleks is grateful that James is apart of his life. He’s truly somebody Aleks can call a best friend. He’s there whenever Aleks needs him and vice versa.

Then there’s Trevor. Trevor is sort of like Aleks’ little brother.

Aleks gives him a lot of shit but he really does want the best for him and he feels somewhat of a responsibility to lead him on the right path. Trevor’s got a bright future ahead of him and Aleks just hopes that future is here. He’s not exactly somebody Aleks can go to for advice or a shoulder to lean on like James is but it’s also not something Aleks needs from people a lot. He doesn’t wanna be that burden, but if Trevor needs to talk, Aleks is there for him.

And then there’s Brett. Brett is… he’s actually a lot of things to Aleks. But Aleks is broken out from his thought when he hears his name being called by… woah, speaking of the devil!

 

“Allllleks,” Brett says as he holds up a cup, gently wiggling it side to side. “You’re shivering like a fucking hypothermia patient so I got us a basic cup o’ joe. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

“Oh shit, dude.” Aleks grins as Brett walks over with the cup. “Hell yeah, gimme a taste of that.”

“Hey, it’s hotter than Satan’s asshole. Prepare yourself,” Brett warns as he gives Aleks a sip of the coffee.

Just like Brett said, it’s scalding but it sends an instant burst of warmth through Aleks’ body and the chill he once felt is temporarily alleviated. Aleks gives Brett a quick thanks and Brett sends him a wink before the whole group (Joe included) continues with filming the rest of their video.

 

What was it Aleks was thinking about again? Oh, right! Brett! Yeah, Brett’s quite a few things to Aleks. He’s sort of like Aleks’ strict but lovable dad.

He’s always looking out for Aleks and making sure he’s okay, but he also does the same for everybody else in the group. There are times he’ll act like somewhat of a drill sergeant but it all comes from a good place - he wants to see the group succeed and like everybody else, he puts his heart and soul into it. From the productions, to the little behind the scene stuff nobody really knows about, to the people themselves, Brett is dedicated.

He’s also Aleks’ beacon of hope.

Brett is somebody that’s really made a career based off the realm of video games and other sorts of related content creation. He’s a person that Aleks aspires to be so he’s been looking up to Brett ever since they met at the Machinima offices - shit, he’s known Brett longer than he’s known James! Apart from James, he’s the other constant in Aleks’ life in that regard.

 

Soon, they all find themselves at the stairs of the subway and James is in the middle of describing what kind of shady shit happens down here, staying true to his pathetic, woobified character for this skit.

“Oh, well he looks pretty tough.” Brett motions to Trevor. “I dunno, we look pretty tough. You’re kind of… kind of lookin’ homeless right now.”

Pretty tough is an understatement! He still remembers the time Brett bench pressed him at the Creatures office - that was done off camera but shit, he really had no trouble lifting Aleks into the air, with those big, strong arms that only the most fierce of vikings could have...  uh, was that really a year ago? Time flies so fast when you don’t work for a company that tries to crush your creative spirit!

“Lead the way, Trevor!” Brett announces as he and Trevor walk in front of Aleks and James to head down the stairs to the main subway area.

Aleks and James stay a good distance behind with each other and Aleks lowers his camera for the meantime. James looks from Aleks to Brett and then back at Aleks with a grin as he nudges his shoulder. “Remember last week, dude?”

“What about last week?” Aleks asks.

“You were tellin’ me about the guys and girls you were looking for right now and you said you wanted a tough guy that could throw you around.”

Aleks narrows his eyes in suspicion and looks over to James, raising an eyebrow in slight anticipation because he _really_  is curious to see where the hell James is going with this.

“You like tough guys,” James notes. “Brett’s a tough guy-”

“Woah. _Woah._ Back up the truck here,” Aleks chuckles nervously. “Can’t go for the boss man.”

“You two _would_  kinda fit together though.” James shrugs. “You and him are like those big guys and their twinks-”

“Yo dawg, I don’t fuck with that,” Aleks interrupts. “Don’t go calling me a twink or a pretty boy or this friendship we have is over.”

“Alright, alright, my mistake.” James holds up his hands in defense before he raises an eyebrow. “But I’m just saying, ya know, Brett’s kind of a good blueprint for what you’re looking for.”

Aleks presses his lips together and looks up to the back of Brett, the very strong, broad back of his and those wide shoulders, _god damnit,_ can he stop thinking about Brett like this? It’s like, the second intrusive thought he’s had about him today and he’s getting sick of it.

By the way? Brett also holds the honors of being the man that made Aleks fully realize he was bisexual.

 

In Aleks’ defense, he was just off the cusp of being a teenager and his hormones were swirling around like crazy and Brett was such a man, such a _handsome man_  and he was into the same things Aleks was and for his young brain, Brett was perfect. Brett was everything he wanted in a man and following that, Brett was all he wanted in him.

Aleks was having suspicions about his sexuality long before Brett but meeting him in person was what solidified the deal. That crush lasted at least a full year before he moved on but thankfully, he’s not crushing on Brett anymore. Can you imagine how awkward it would be if he was still crushing, considering they work together? Considering they’re close friends?

Also, he remembers what happened the last time a boss and his coworker decided to date - it was awesome! So awesome it made him leave with James to start Cow Chop (along with a whole slew of other factors). Aleks personally doesn’t think that’s a problem but the last two made it one so he wants to avoid dating any coworkers for the time being, not that he’d date any of them.

He and Brett are close friends and it’s _super lit._ He wishes these intrusive thoughts could calm themselves down but Brett’s built like a fucking beautiful musk ox, have you seen him? Aleks doesn’t think he should be put on trial for any of this.

 

“What exactly is that blueprint?” Aleks asks.

“A big, strong man?”

“Kay, I’ll be sure to add that to my Grindr bio when we get back,” Aleks says, conveniently right when they make it to the subway trains - right where Trevor and Brett stop.

“Add what to your Grindr?” Trevor asks, raising his eyebrows.

Aleks shakes his head. “Noth-”

“Aleksandr needs a big, strong man in his life.” James pats Aleks’ shoulder and smiles over at his best friend, which grows bigger at the dirty look Aleks gives him.

“Oh, Brett’s big and strong!” Trevor pats Brett’s shoulder.

_TREVOR, SHUT UP._

Brett raises his eyebrows at Trevor and then looks to Aleks, lowering his glasses before he takes them off to tuck them into the collar of his shirt. “Aleks, if you need a guy to tide you over until you find something better, I’ll volunteer. It’s what a good boss does for his employees.”

Aleks’ mind is on fire and wanders around aimlessly with no clear direction but somehow, it bumps into the wall where all his witty banter resides so he’s able to form a clear, concise response instead of stammering out nonsense. He scoffs and shakes his head, raising his camera. “Yo, I know better than to try shit with a straight guy.”

That’s the surefire way Aleks knows he’ll never crush on Brett again, because there’s literally no possibility of them ever getting together if Brett isn’t into guys. There’s _no way_  for Aleks to fool himself into thinking Brett could ever feel the same way because he just can’t! They’re incompatible! It’s fantastic!! Aleks likes to have that concrete knowledge, in knowing there’s either a 0% or 100% chance of something happening. It leaves no room for doubt.

And if Brett were into guys? Aleks doubts that Brett would be into him in the first place. Brett actually like, has _standards._

Brett snorts and raises his hands in defense. “Fair enough, no offense taken. Enough about Aleks’ Grindr profile, we got a video to shoot.”

“You wanna… walk over here?” Trevor smirks. “Get it? I’m _walking over here.”_

“No,” Brett says, “I’m walking over _here.”_

Oh thank god that conversation is over with. Aleks really doesn’t need to start thinking about Brett in this context any longer than he has been with these intrusive thoughts. Despite the incredibly uncomfortable convo, they all have a point - wouldn’t hurt to make a change or two to his Grindr bio that explicitly states he wants a big dude to manhandle and destroy him.

They continue filming the bit and fool around the rest of the time on camera until their metro stops. They filter in one by one and take a minute or two to film the rest of the bit before it’s back to bullshitting and killing time. The harbor shouldn’t be too far now, only a few minutes! For those few minutes, Aleks can bask in the warmth of the metro as well as that disgusting smell! He misses Colorado already!

Aleks is trying so hard to warm himself up that he doesn’t feel the pair of eyes on him from an older dude close by. Though he doesn’t notice, somebody else in the group does and locks their eyes on this man like a hawk.

 

Brett narrows his eyes at this man from afar, slowly holding a hand out. “Hey, Aleks, get by me.”

“What’s up?” Aleks asks.

“Just get over here,” Brett urges. Aleks knows that, even if he has no idea why Brett is telling him to do something, it’s usually for a good reason so he shuffles over by his side.

The warmth in the subway is nothing compared to the safe warmth he feels when Brett wraps an arm around his waist to keep him close. Aleks wouldn’t even mind if they stayed like this for the rest of the ride down to the harbor because it’s such a great sensation and it ends up blocking the filter in Aleks’ mind that tells him not to think about his boss like that.

Not that he is… or was going to! But he can acknowledge that Brett is like, real warm and constantly radiates a vibe of safety.

Brett winks at the now annoyed man before he moves his mouth by Aleks’ ear. “There was this creepy ass dude staring at you, figured he’d look at some big, strong guy like me and think twice.”

Aleks grins and edges closer. “Is he still staring?”

“Oh yeah.” Brett nods. “He’s totally jealous,” he says as he brings his other hand up to Aleks’ shoulder to pick some fuzz off.

“Trevor, what are you doing?” James asks as Trevor wraps an arm around his waist, looking down to the hand now on his hip with a grimace.

“I wanted to get in on all the love being spread!” Trevor grins over at Aleks and Brett with a nod.

“It’s temporary, I’m breaking up with him when we get to the harbor,” Brett teases.

“Yo, what the fuck? More than some booty call,” Aleks teases back as he gently hits Brett’s chest.

“He takes me so seriously.” Brett laughs. “C’mere, like I’d leave your pretty ass.”

“I’m not pretty. I’m not pretty and I’m not-

“Not a twink either,” James finishes, raising his eyebrows at Brett. “Important life lesson, Brett.”

“Okay, I’ll do better next time,” Brett says as he places the hat back on his head. “Even the best boyfriends fuck up sometimes - remember that when you go on Grindr to find that big, strong man, Aleks.”

 

See what he means by Brett being that strict, lovable dad? He’s always looking out and offering help whenever he can! It’d be nice to have a boyfriend like that… big and strong, but also one who’s sweet and will be there for him. Aleks is basically looking for a teddy bear and he doubts he’ll find a guy that resembles that as closely as Brett does but Brett’s a pretty good blueprint, like James said.

Despite the teasing from his friends, Aleks does change his Grindr bio and he successfully sets a date for tomorrow night with - you guessed it - a big, strong man.

* * *

**March 10th, 2017**

 

“So why isn’t Aleks coming back to PAX today?” Brett asks as he swipes through his messages. “Is he ditching us to go out with a big, strong guy he met on Grindr?”

“Dude, he’s legit sick,” Trevor explains. “After we filmed our cringe stuff, he threw up in the con’s bathrooms and walked back to his hotel. I dunno what happened, he seemed fine yesterday.”

“And you’re sure he doesn’t just have a Grindr date?” Brett asks as he opens Aleks’ contact to shoot him a quick text.

“Looked pretty sick to me.” Trevor shrugs. “And Aleks wouldn’t fake this, at least not here.”

“No, I know,” Brett says. “Don’t think he’s ever lied to me.”

 

 **[Himself]** Hey, how sick are you?

 

Brett gnaws at his bottom lip and looks out the windows of the convention center. The hotel they’re staying in isn’t too far away… he should probably go check on Aleks to make sure he isn’t dying. These cons are so much better with Aleks by his side, not that everybody else in the Cow Chop family isn’t great but he and Aleks have this sort of kinship that’s dated back to the first time they met, way back when.

And if it weren’t for Aleks, Brett wouldn’t even be where he is today. Aleks was the one that pushed him into a management role in the first place.

He pointed out how much happier Brett seems when he’s doing behind the scenes stuff, keeping out of the camera’s sight, and Brett re-evaluated himself after that. Ever since, he took more responsibilities behind the scenes, ones that had to do more with setting up payrolls and coordinating flights and meetings but Brett felt more fulfilled with himself than he’s ever had in his life and that wouldn’t have been achieved without Aleks insistence.

Aleks saw all the potential in him before anybody else so yeah, Aleks has a special place in his heart. It’s why Brett takes his job as the Executive Producer of Cow Chop so seriously - this is Aleks’ baby. He’s entrusted Brett with it and Brett doesn’t want to fuck it up. If that means following strict deadlines, enforcing late hours, and having to lay down the law every so often, then so be it

 

“Do we really need him for anything today?” Trevor asks as he runs a hand back through his hair.

“No, we were just gonna walk the con floor and talk to the fans.” Brett looks around to see James texting away on his phone. “Hey, your boyfriend’s sick.”

“Yeah, I know,” James says. “He told me last night.”

_Buzz buzz._

Brett turns his phone back around to read the notifications - thankfully, it’s Aleks. Not so thankfully, are the contents of his message:

 

 **[Aleks]** Sick as fuuuck.

 **[Aleks]** Idk what happened. It just hit me like a truck.

 **[Aleks]** Yooo those texts rhymed, haha.

 

_At least he’s still his same old self._

Brett quirks a grin and immediately begins typing away while James and Trevor get into a conversation of their own about Aleks’ well being.

 

 **[Himself]** Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna grab medicine for… whatever you have. And I’ll be there soon.

 **[Himself]** Best boss ever, right?

 

“Alright boys, hold the fort for an hour,” Brett says as he looks up, glancing between the two. “I got a sick kid to bestow gifts unto.”

“Ay, this lady at the Overwatch booth gave me this shirt but I don’t want it,” James says as he hands Brett the shirt on top his shoulder. “Maybe my leftovers will make him feel better.”

“Uh… think he’ll need a bit more than that but he’ll appreciate the gesture.”

_Buzz buzz._

 

 **[Aleks]** What about the con?

 **[Himself]** LOL I can pull myself away for an hour to make sure you’re okay.

 **[Himself]** Don’t worry about it :)

 

_He’s a lot more important than some convention._

“So do you guys think you’ll be fine without daddy here to hold your hands?” Brett asks as he slowly backs away towards the direction of the entrance and exit.

“Daddy’s gotta hold somebody else’s hand,” Trevor says it casually but a smile tickles the corner of his lips.

“Yeah, you fuckers will be fine,” Brett mumbles, holding up a peace sign and turning his back. “Take care of each other, follow the buddy system, blahblahblah.”

Right as he walks out of the convention center is when Aleks replies back.

 

 **[Aleks]** Thanks, dude

 

Brett’s just glad he’s not dying. Still, a sick Aleks is never any fun and Brett wants to do anything he can to help. He’d give Aleks the clothes off his back if he absolutely needed them but Aleks is pretty responsible so that probably won’t happen. Aleks is a big boy now. An adult male. An adult male with responsibilities who can take care of himself, but even adults need somebody to care for them once in awhile.

Brett’s reply back is simply...

 

 **[Himself]** Anytime.

* * *

Aleks opens his hotel room door and he miraculously looks more pale than he’s ever been in his life. He looks like he’s on the brink of death too, all bundled up in his comforter from the bed but despite everything that tells Brett that Aleks looks sickly and disgusting, he still finds him… weirdly good looking.

Brett wishes he could say that was the first time he’s thought that about Aleks lately.

 

“Wow, you’re definitely going through something,” Brett says as he walks into his hotel room. “James got you this shirt, by the way!” He offers as he tosses the shirt onto Aleks’ bed.

“I feel like I’ve gone through a war.” Aleks yawns and toddles over to his bed, plopping down onto the mattress.

“Well, hopefully the medicine I bought will stop you from turning into a casualty. I could only find the liquid stuff, sorry.”

“Whatever, man,” Aleks says as he watches Brett take out the medicine from the bag. “I just need something.”

“So it really just happened out of nowhere, huh?” Brett asks as he pours the contents into the cap, taking a quick whiff and scrunching his face in distaste at the scent.

“As soon as I got back to the hotel last night, everything hit me.” Aleks sniffs. “I don’t usually get sick like this just because of the weather.”

“Maybe it’s like, one of those times where everybody is catching something,” Brett reasons. “Remember what I said yesterday, about how even the best boyfriends make mistakes? Even the best immune system has its share of weaknesses.”

Although Brett can’t remember the last time he was actually sick - with a cold and not because of some gross shit the entirety of Cow Chop managed to pull that time, such as the stink bomb prank. It was a great prank and Aleks is a beautifully (in all senses of the word) evil mastermind but that was the sickest thing Brett ever went through. Apparently the landlords of the house thought so too because they want Cow Chop the _fuck_  out of there.

Brett’s still trying to reason with the landlord to keep the house until their move to LA but the negotiation process on their side is looking pretty dim. The last reply the landlord sent to Brett was that he’d have an answer for him by the end of the week so by the time they all get back from PAX, Brett will know whether they can continue shacking it up or work like mad dogs to find a new place for their office for a few weeks.

He’s the one dealing with it so Aleks and James don’t have to. They need to focus their energy on the creative side and Brett gets to deal with the actual business. It’s what they agreed upon in the first place but much like any other business owner, Brett still has stresses and anxieties trying to keep the channel afloat, even if it is doing relatively well.

 

Aleks grins and looks up to Brett right as he takes a seat beside him. “Thanks for being a good boyfriend yesterday, by the way.”

Brett chuckles and hands Aleks the cup. “Anytime. I bet I raised the bar when it comes to those Grindr dates, huh?” he asks as he watches Aleks down the contents - his mouth twists together for a few seconds at the bitter taste but he takes it like a champ.

“Actually, I took yours and everybody’s really bad advice.” Aleks coughs and reaches for his water bottle on the nightstand. “Put down in my bio that I was looking for a big guy and my inbox flooded.”

“Ooh, get some!” Brett nods his approval. “Find any guys you like?”

Brett has known that Aleks was bisexual ever since they first met. Aleks didn’t tell him but he didn’t have to because Brett just got this _vibe_ and he's good with those. Vibes, that is.

He still remembers the moment Aleks told him about his bisexuality, the fear on his face and the stuttering in his words - he doesn’t see fear on Aleks too much but he saw the most of it on that day. The poor dude was worried out of his mind that Brett would think less of him when in reality, Brett was  _totally_  supportive, he was and always will be! Aleks should be able to love and fuck who he wants and Brett would be a hypocrite not to support him considering what he himself is going through but that’s an explanation for a different time.

“I did, actually,” Aleks answers after taking a sip, swishing it around in his mouth to rid the bitter taste. “Big guy, big beard-”

“Big dick?” Brett asks as he leans back on the bed.

“Well… yeah.” Aleks smirks down at Brett before he scoots back to the headboard of the bed, sitting against it. “And I was supposed to see it tonight buuuuut it looks like I can’t do that anymore.” His smirk falls and his lips purse together, side to side. “Really sucks.”

“He ain’t the only fish in the sea.” Brett shrugs. “Bet you’ll find hotter guys when you go back to Colorado.”

_Even hotter ones in LA..._

“Still sucks," Aleks repeats. "Been awhile since I got laid.”

“How long is awhile?”

“Like, two weeks?”

“Two weeks? Dude, that’s _nothing._ Stop being so whiny,” Brett tells him. A second later, he feels a pillow being thrown harshly at his face. “Hey!”

“Yeah bro, that’s a long fuckin’ time for me!” Aleks whines and coughs into his arm afterwards. “With girls, I can go longer but with dudes, it’s different.”

_Tell me about it._

“How so?” Brett asks as he takes the pillow off his face to place it behind his head instead.

“It just… I dunno, just is.” Aleks looks down at his bundled up lap, his cheeks tinting red. “I guess it’s because lately, I’ve been wanting dudes more so I don’t wanna go as long without them. I guess.”

“No, that makes sense.” Brett nods. “But you’ll have no problem finding another guy. Or, you know, just ask to reschedule. If he’s cool, he’ll understand. If he doesn’t, you can always rebound with me - James would probably be totally supportive of that.”

Aleks swallows and tilts his head, narrowing his eyes. “And why would he be supportive of that?”

“You guys weren’t being quiet in the subway.” Brett chuckles. “I heard him say we’d be perfect together, something like that.”

Brett doesn’t know if they’d be _perfect_  together but he definitely thinks Aleks is a catch, especially now with the uptake in confidence he seems to have taken. The confidence adds another level of attractiveness to Aleks, not that he wasn’t already - there’s no denying how pretty he is. But that confidence turns him into the kind of attractive that can make certain guys seriously question themselves, for weeks (even _months)_ on end, no matter how comfortable they are with their sexuality.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Aleks chuckles nervously and looks the other way. “Well, uh, he was joking so…”

“As am I. Did you really think I was ready to turn your ass over and have my way with you?”

“Woah, of course not, dawg!” Aleks’ chuckle comes out louder this time but it still holds the same infliction as the last. “Nooo, c’mon, you know you’re not supposed to mix business with pleasure.”

“And if we could mix business with pleasure?” Brett asks and he immediately starts laughing when Aleks’ face widens. “Kidding! Relax, I just like to give you shit sometimes.” His laughter dies down into a chuckle as he pats Aleks’ knee before standing up from the bed. “Ahh but like I said, give the dude a message. Or don’t, whatever. Your sex life, not mine. But everything will be fine, I promise.”

Aleks’ shoulders slump and he looks up to Brett. “Promise?”

“Would I ever lie to you?” Brett shoves his hands into his pockets.

“... I don’t know.”

“Well I’m not right now. If you’re still feeling bad by nighttime, take more medicine. Actual medicine, don’t just blaze it up. And let me know if you still feel sick by then, otherwise we can let you stay in here during the signing tomorrow. Don’t want you going out if you’re sick.”

“I’ll probably be fine enough to do signings. Hopefully.” Aleks sniffs and lowers himself on the bed to turn onto his side. “But I’ll let you know.”

“Alright man, hang in there. Shoot me a text if you need anything.”

 

They say their goodbyes before Brett leaves his hotel room and down the hall. He doesn’t know why the hell Aleks is suddenly sick but he thinks Aleks will be fine. If he’s not, well, Brett will have to take a part time job as Aleks’ nurse until PAX is over. Wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

Hell, Brett would much rather spend the whole day with Aleks. Spend time with a hot guy or spend time at the cringe fest known as PAX? It’s a no brainer.

* * *

  **Returning To: March 14th, 2017**

 

If it wasn’t for Brett, Aleks would still be out of commission. He was waiting for Aleks hand and foot (digitally) and giving Aleks whatever he needed at anytime. He was sort of like Aleks’ sexy nurse without the short dress and fishnet stockings, though that would be an interesting image. How come that isn’t a Rooster Teeth First goal? That’s a lot more manageable than a livestream party.

Aleks’ phone vibrates and he leans over on the couch to see the caller ID and he’s pleasantly surprised to see it’s Brett. Maybe a call from Brett will do the trick in healing his mysterious illness! He’ll also be a good distraction from Aleks finding out that he doesn’t have a fucking place to move into as of minutes ago!

 

“Yo yo yo, what’s the haps?” Aleks asks.

“You sound more like shit than you did at PAX,” Brett comments.

“Yeah, I got sick again. God’s trying to hold me back, bro.”

“I bet he is. So uh… um, has James told you the news yet?”

“... what news? I haven’t talked to him since we landed, I’ve been trying to sleep away the sickness.”

“Ah.” Brett blows out a breath and reads through the latest email from their landlord - who is now their previous landlord. “Uh. It’s not good news. It’s about the house.”

“... uh, your house?”

“No, the Cow Chop house. Remember the video we did of your stink bombs? How I completely tore through the door?”

“Duuuuude yeah, that was funny as fuck!” Aleks laughs. “I loved that!”

“Ha, yeah buddy, me too! But our landlord didn’t.”

_Oh fuck._

“Yeah. Um…” Brett purses his lips. “They’re giving us 3 days to move out all of our shit. It’s basically a notice for an eviction notice.”

_I’m gonna KERMIT._

“Duuude, no,” Aleks whines and shoots up from the couch. “They can’t do that to me this week-”

“Unfortunately, they can.” Brett hisses through his teeth. “I mean, it’s a miracle we stayed there for as long as we did but-”

“Brett, you don’t get this, this day and this week has been shit.” Aleks frowns and slumps back against the couch, looking off to the wall to contemplate his defeat.

Brett furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head. “Why do you say that? What’s up, dude?”

Aleks huffs through his nose and looks up to the ceiling before he throws a hand up in the air. “So like… I’ve been sick and whenever I think I’m getting better and there’s progress, it gets worse again and I’m stressed as hell, my anxiety is through the roof, and we’re losing the house now,” he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “And like, I fucking lost my apartment too, the one in Hollywood, I dunno, I guess somebody was really insistent they get it and offered to pay more than me so now I have no place to stay when I go to LA and I’m totally fucked-”

“Hold on,” Brett interjects. “You don’t have a place to stay in LA for when you move?”

“Fuck me, right?” Aleks chuckles and he then coughs into his arm before he sniffs loudly. “It’s fucking awesome.”

Aleks’ life is slowly crumbling this week alone and he longs for the days where he didn’t have to worry about all of this, like going headfirst into another YouTube channel and keeping a roof over the heads of his friends, on top of his dwindling love and sex life. Now they have to worry about finding a temporary office for a few weeks, another notch on the stress agenda, and it’s just so much _work_  and Aleks has been busting his ass and he sort of wants a break.

He wants to stop thinking about it all.

Aleks wants a glimmer of hope through all of this that’ll tell him it’ll be okay-

 

“Aleks,” Brett says, his voice piercing Aleks’ internal rambling, “just stay with me.”

“What?”

“Stay with me,” Brett repeats. “There’s room, my house allows pets, it’ll be rent-free… so yeah, just stay with me until you can find a place of your own. No big deal.”

Oh. There it is. There _he_  is, that beacon of consistent hope that has kept Aleks going throughout all these years.

Aleks looks down to the threads of the blanket covering his lap as he begins to pick at the threads, wondering how he got so lucky to have Brett for a friend. Brett’s really going to let Aleks stay with him, Aleks and all his pets, for free… fuck, it was well meaning shit like this that sparked Aleks’ crush on Brett so long ago. Brett’s manly looks was definitely part of it but mainly, it was that sweet, endearing personality of his.

He’s always gone out of his way to make Aleks comfortable and anytime Aleks has had a fear or worry, Brett is there to assuage it. It’s still a thing that continues into 2017 but instead of little accommodations and words of support, it’s _an entire fucking house._

Aleks appreciates everything Brett does for him, every single thing, but… _what have I ever done for Brett?_

 

“Dude, I don’t wanna be a burden,” Aleks says softly.

“You won’t be,” Brett assures. “I promise.”

“But with me there, it’ll be a bit more crowded, wouldn’t it?”

“Nah, not really.” Brett shakes his head. “Look, if you _really_  insist, I can let you pay some bills but I don’t mind. I’d be a dick to leave you stranded in LA.”

Aleks wouldn’t be entirely stranded. He could always stay in their office… though that’d be kind of awkward, wouldn’t it? Where in the warehouse would he put his clothes? Where would he sleep? Or shower? But Brett, he has everything Aleks needs. Should Aleks really say no just to preserve his sense of independence? How stupid would that be? If Brett wants to fucking help him, he should fucking take it!

_Let him help you, dumbass._

“Okay, I’ll only live with you if you let me pay some bills,” Aleks compromises. “I don’t wanna be a total mooch.”

“You wouldn’t be.” Brett chuckles. “Aleks, you’ve done so much for me so let me do something for you.”

“Dude, you’re the one that’s busted your ass for me.” Aleks scoffs. “I haven’t done shit.”

“You’ve done a lot for me, you just don’t know it. I wouldn’t even be here today without you - I wouldn’t be your boss right now if it weren’t for you, actually.”

Aleks can’t help but crack a grin at the praise. Slowly but surely, he can feel his sickness being lifted. “Guess I did motivate you into that. Kind of.”

“And you’ve done a lot more too,” Brett tells him. “You’re a good kid. Lemme take care of you.”

“Alright, fine.” Aleks rolls his eyes. “You can take care of me.”

“It’s what you want, right? A big, strong guy-”

“Shut the fuck up.” Aleks chuckles and sits up on the couch. “Haven’t found another date, by the way.”

“We’ll find you one in LA,” Brett offers. “Guys here are so much hotter. Trust me.”

“Because you know so much about other guys, right?”

“More than you think.”

“Suuuuure.”

“But yeah, you can move in with me. I’ll fly down to Colorado and help you move shit out when the day comes.”

 

Right when Aleks thinks all hope is lost, Brett is there shining as that beacon of hope that indicates otherwise. Aleks doesn’t even know if he’d be here right now if he didn’t meet Brett. Brett opened him up more to the world of gaming and introduced him to other content creators and along the way, he met James and the rest of the Creatures. They’re broken apart but now they’re doing their own thing with each other and it’s looking to be better than ever.

None of this would’ve been possible without Brett.

 

A relieved smile slowly graces Aleks’ face and his body slumps in relaxation. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Anything for you, Aleks.”


	2. Enter The Datastream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett make the long drive from Colorado to California together and Aleks is starting to think he never left home at all.

**** **March 21st, 2017**

 

The boom of the roaring storm is the only warning Aleks gets before their power suddenly shuts off. Thankfully, they didn’t start any actual gameplay so no progress is lost - better now than later.

He stares ahead at the black screen with his lips thinly pressed and he holds out his hand to slowly let his controller drop onto the rug. “I’m gonna give myself a break, my dudes.”

“I need something to drink anyways,” James says as he stands up from the couch, smoothing down his shirt before he walks towards their break room area. “Yo, you want anything?”

“I’m good,” Aleks tells him as he takes his phone out from his pocket to see the notification of Brett’s text message. He slides it open to see an attached picture of him lounging by the pool in a tanktop with the bright sun shining over his face, eyes covered by sunglasses.

 

**[Brett]** Week and a half and you get alllll this sun whenever you want!

 

Sun would be pretty! If it were sunny outside, the power wouldn’t be out right now and they could continue working and get all these videos out of the way before they move. James lucked out with renting a literal barn for their offices - not the most practical but at least they’ll have a place to film videos until they can move into that sweet ass warehouse. A big, concrete box that can’t be burned down no matter how hard they try? Please and thank you.

As much as Aleks can’t wait to take in all the sun, however, he _is_ going to miss Colorado. He’s spent a significant portion of his life here so he’s going to be a bit homesick.

He’s leaving behind so many memories but he needs to continue forward with his life, move up in the world, create new memories… damnit, he needs to escape his comfort zone! Though he’s not totally escaping it because all of his friends are coming along for the ride and he does get to live with Brett so that’ll hopefully mitigate any homesickness he might feel.

_ Holy fuck dude, I can’t believe I’m gonna live with Brett. _

 

“You think LA gets storms like this a lot?” James asks as he takes a seat on the couch, popping open the can to his soda.

“No, they get a shit ton of wildfires instead,” Aleks answers as he sets his phone on top of the table. “So where are you living? You find a fucking mansion in Beverly Hills?”

“I don’t wanna live above my means,” James answers, shaking his head. “It’s not too big but it ain’t small either.”

“Whatever you say, Scrooge McDuck.” Aleks yawns and runs a hand down his face, suddenly swatting his hand at the air when he feels a pillow hitting his face. “Yo!”

“So where are you living?” James asks with an innocent smile, looking over to Aleks. “Did you find that place in Hollywood like you want?”

Aleks breathes in deeply and shakes his head, looking down to his lap. “Uh, nah, found a place by Echo Park.”

Echo Park is super fucking nice, from what Aleks has seen, and it’s apparently one of the greatest neighborhoods in LA so he really lucked out! He actually gets to live in Echo Park rent free! Er, until he can find a place of his own but he’s got a good thing going on until then. Aleks still feels like a bit of a burden on Brett but he won’t say it aloud, not when Brett insists otherwise. Aleks knows Brett doesn’t care, logically, but he can’t help the slight anxiety he feels.

“Ayy, that’s where Brett lives!” James points out.

“Uh, yeah, so like, about that…” Aleks chuckles and rests his hands on his knees, rubbing his hands up and down. “Me and him are actually kind of shacking it up together. Boys paradise, you know what I’m sayin?”

James raises his eyebrows and takes another sip from his can with a grin. He takes his sweet time with his sip and not once does he take his eyes away from Aleks, which makes Aleks incredibly uncomfortable so he averts his own gaze down to his nails and picks at them.

_ Yo, my nails are fucked. _

“You’re living with Brett?” James asks after what seems like years. “Just you and him?”

“It’s just until I find a place of my own, it’s not like I called Brett up and went,” Aleks makes a phone sign with his hand and puts it up to his ear, “yo, I don’t wanna pay rent, lemme live with you!”

“So you didn’t find a place in time and you asked Brett to stay with him?”

“Nah, I was talking to him on the phone and told him I was still looking and he just,” Aleks waves his hands dismissively, “offered to let me stay. And I took it.”

Brett would’ve done that for anybody else in the group who needed a place to stay. It’s not because Aleks is special or anything, it’s just because Brett is an honestly good dude who cares about people. If Trevor didn’t have anybody to move in with, Brett would’ve taken him in. That’s simply what a great boss does for his employees - what a great _friend_  does for his friends.

 

James nods slowly and takes a deep breath before he looks up to the ceiling. “Okay, man.” He chuckles to himself and begins to hum a familiar tune, rather quietly, “Aleks and Brett, sitting in a tree…”

_ I should’ve never told him about my crush. _

Aleks off-handedly mentioned it years ago at a convention but ever since Cow Chop became a thing, the teasing has increased exponentially now that they’re all actively working together. It’s like he… like he thinks… what does he even think? Probably just thinks it’d be funny if they dated and what’d be so funny about that, if it ever happened? You know what, it doesn’t matter. Whatever he’s thinking, it’s stupid and Aleks doesn’t want any part of it.

Aleks rolls his eyes and hits the bottom of James can before he gets up from the couch. He smirks when he hears James cursing under his breath and he wipes his hands together in satisfaction.

James doesn’t tease him about Brett for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, it’s back to normal by the next day.

* * *

 

**April 2nd, 2017**

 

Aleks puts the last of his video games in the box before taping it shut and then he sets it out in the living room. Everything that isn’t furniture has been put away so now it’s just a matter of waiting for Brett and some movers. Aleks would help but uh, he’s not exactly the strongest guy in the world. He’s not like Brett, who can fucking lift a million weights at once with one hand, and that’s fine. He doesn’t have to be strong but looking at these other guys can be pretty intimidating.

He yawns and looks over to the clock, noting the early time of 2:24 AM. He’s going to be in LA by… 5 PM. 15 fucking hours of nonstop driving, with a cat and a dog in the backseat who need stimulation, but at least Brett will be there by his side.

For 15 hours.

Ha, that’s probably the longest time he’ll ever spend with Brett, at least until they move in together because then they’re going to be near each other practically 24/7. How much will their friendship change by being in such close quarters? Will it get better or worsen?

With some people, they learn new, exciting things about each other they never would have otherwise if they didn’t live with them. They begin to bond and in turn, they become closer than ever. But with others, the quirks of another might drive them crazy and force a wedge in their relationship. Aleks hopes it’s the former - it’d be pretty awkward to go to work with a boss who doesn’t like you anymore.

“Aleksaaaaandr!” Brett calls out through his door before he gives it a few knocks. “Good ol’ Brett is here!”

Fucking _finally,_  there he is! Aleks is ready to blow this popsicle stand behind!

Aleks walks over to the door and opens it to see Brett, who’s dressed in gray sweats, a black tanktop, and a backwards gray baseball hat, presumably to hide his hairline but Aleks finds him good looking either way. He might give Brett shit for his bald spot but it’s all in good fun. Besides, Aleks is into older guys so why would shit like that turn him off?

Not that Brett turns him on. Not anymore.

… not that much.

 

He nods his head at Brett and holds out his hand. “Yo, what’s up, boss man?”

“Nothing much besides being up at the crack of dawn to help your ass move,” Brett replies as he gives Aleks a high five before walking fully inside his house. “Movers here yet?”

“Nah, but they should get here soon,” Aleks says as he closes the door, turning to follow Brett. “Thanks again for helping me move, by the way, it’s super cool.”

“Hey, I wish I had somebody to help me out when I was your age, moving to LA for my first time…” Brett snorts and shakes his head, smiling big. “God, _ ‘when I was your age’, _ I sound so old,” he says as he goes to Aleks’ fridge.

“You’re like, 33, right? You’re not that old,” Aleks says, hopping up onto his dining table to sit down. He watches as Brett takes out a bottle of water as well as a sip, but he ends up chuckling and the water dribbles out of his mouth and down his chin, dripping onto the collar of his tanktop.

_ Why the fuck isn’t he wearing an actual shirt? _

“Not that old,” Brett repeats, looking back to Aleks. “Thanks.”

“Bro, you know what I mean,” Aleks tells him. “It’s not even a bad thing, older dudes are hot.”

“Ooh, we’re hot, huh?” Brett raises an eyebrow and leans back against the fridge, twisting the cap back onto the water before he sets it on the counter. “What makes them so hot?”

“Cause they’re more experienced and they know what the fuck they’re doing,” Aleks explains, looking up to the ceiling as he continues to think. “I dunno. Do you have deep, complicated reasons for why you like some of the shit you do?”

On top of that, Aleks has a pretty big daddy kink so logically, he’s going to want to go for older guys - at least he is now. Why he has a daddy kink? Well… does he really need a deep, complicated reason for why he has it? Aleks doesn’t look too far into it and it’s not like he has a psychology degree. He just has a thing for hot older guys that know how to dominate. Simple. 

Aleks didn’t always have a thing for older guys, however. It took one steamy night with a  certain older man for him to fully realize the benefits of fucking an older guy but Aleks has never looked back and more often than not, those are the types he finds himself fooling around with.

“I’m sure there is but whatever they are, I haven’t found it yet,” Brett answers, crossing his arms over his chest. “But I guess you got a point, I mean, there’s probably an event in our lives that explain why we like some of the things we do but we don’t know exactly what it is.”

“See man, you feel me.”

“I like to think that I still know how to connect with the youth.”

“If you used to be young like us, why wouldn’t you know?” Aleks slowly grins, rolling his lips back.

“I’m just curious, are you gonna roast me for 15 hours on how old I am?” Brett chuckles and leans back off the fridge, walking past Aleks and ruffling his hair on the way.

Aleks fixes his hair as he hops off the table, watching Brett take a seat over on his couch. “Like I said, it’s not bad.”

Brett’s a lot more hot than he was before too. He aged like fine wine, going from a beardless dork as thin as Aleks is to a bearded fitness god… that’s still a dork. Brett’s good looking in every incarnate but especially now! If Aleks met Brett like this when they first met...

 

“Hey, who’s offering you their home to live in, free of charge?” Brett raises an eyebrow knowingly at Aleks as he crosses his arms behind his head. “Better be nice.”

“Dude, you’re so sensitive.”

“And you’re going to be out on the streets if-”

“Sooooo sorry, bro.” Aleks shakes his head at himself. “I’ll be a good boy from now on.”

Brett snorts and holds up a hand. “I’m just giving you shit, it’s cool.”

“So you can give me shit but I can’t give you shit?”

“Yup. Double standards are great when they work in your favor, huh?”

Aleks is about to reply until the bell to his apartment rings, signalling that the movers are here. Looks like it’s really time to leave Colorado behind… who knows when Aleks will ever be back here.

Maybe he can like, come down here on a trip one day. It’d be nice to visit Colorado in the winter time, where there’s bound to be an abundance of snow - that’s something LA will never have, but then LA has things Colorado will never have.

Aleks is starting all over again in a brand new place and he’s going to have to relearn where all the good restaurants are, all the best routes, the coolest hang out spots, etc. but at least he has his friends to join him for the experience. He also has one excellent resource in Brett, somebody who’s now made California their home, so it makes everything that much less daunting.

 

Aleks watches Brett and the movers pack his things away into the moving trailer attached to his car while he keeps Mishka and Celia occupied, as not to disturb their work. It only takes a little under an hour to get everything in the trailer - anything that won’t be moved into Brett’s house will be kept in a storage unit close by, until Aleks can find a place of his own. He was quick to figure everything out.

He’s picking fuzz out of Mishka’s fur when he hears Brett clearing his voice above him. He raises his eyebrows and looks up at Brett’s smiling face before glancing over to his outstretched hand.

“Let’s go, pardner, LA awaits.”

* * *

 

Brett turns the camera lens to face Aleks. “Aleks, tell our viewers what we’re doing right now.”

“Yooo, Brett, thanks for filming me as I drive us all the way to LA.” Aleks glances into the camera before he looks back out the dashboard, pointing his thumb to the backseat. “If you can see in the back, I got my dog and my cat with me and behind that, is a big ass trailer with all my shit.”

It’s also past 5 AM so they’ve been on the road for 3 hours now. It’s surprisingly been less boring than Aleks thought!

He and Brett have clashing music tastes so they compromised by playing one song from each of their favorite genres after another, alternating back and forth, and when they’re not listening to the music they engage in conversation with each other. Whenever those conversations die down into comfortable silence, the music fills it, so they got a pretty good system going on.

But the music is off and the conversation is back on. They’re hyping some of their conversation purely for the entertainment of future viewers but they’re genuinely having fun. Everybody’s filming their own trip down to LA but unlike them, Aleks is driving with Brett so he can be filmed while driving but they won’t be filming much - just a few blurbs here and there. It’s also another way to pass the time.

 

Brett now turns the camera around to face himself. “I put all that shit away myself, by the way, because this one can’t do it by himself.”

“You had two fucking guys helping you, bro. It wasn’t all by yourself.”

Brett shrugs. “I did most of the work. Those guys were puny. Like ants.”

“Fucking Captain Modest over here.”

“Hey, you saw them!” Brett argues, looking over to Aleks. “I could eat both of them.”

Aleks grins hugely and shakes his head, laughing slightly to himself. “Whatever, man. Listen, why don’t you tell them why you’re here with me if you’re gonna keep hogging the camera?” he asks as he turns into the gas station lot.

“Coming from the guy who’s going to be hogging my house soon.” Brett yawns and looks out the window. “Yeah guys, a little bit of housekeeping… Aleks is staying with me because he got fucked trying to find a place. Can’t leave our bright youth stranded in LA, right, Aleks?” he asks as he turns the camera to Aleks again.

“You haven’t stopped talking about how young I am since you got here, dawg, you got a fetish?” Aleks asks.

“You’re the one that’s got a fetish for older guys. Total double standard going on here.”

“Bleep that.”

“By the way, fellas, Aleksandr is looking for a big, strong guy. Hit him up on his Tinder, or Grindr, whichever one. He’s good for both.”

“And I’ll swipe left on you,” Aleks says as he parks the car by the pump, reaching into his console for his wallet. “Stop trying to hook me up with somebody and get me gas.”

Brett chuckles and nods. “Just trying to keep my employees happy.” He turns off the camera and sets it in the back before he takes the cash Aleks gives him. “What pump is this?”

Aleks watches Brett leave to go into the store after telling him the pump number. He takes out his phone, checking his Twitter and random messages to pass the time.

There’s nothing exciting going on at all, then again, there’s never really anything exciting going on in his life. Aleks loves to go out and get fucked up but his current friend circle rarely feel the same way. It’s not bad at all, they all like what they like, but Aleks just wishes he could do those things with people more. He wants to go to parties and get drunk off his ass, make a fool of himself! That’s the way to live life!

But anytime Brett comes to Colorado, he and Aleks will go out on the town and get drunk off their asses together, so maybe it’ll all change for Aleks when they go to LA. They could be partying all the time with each other!

He has the window rolled down to check for Brett. Aleks can just barely see the inside of the store but Brett is next in line to pay. Sooner they can get gas, sooner they can be in LA! Only 12 hours to go… at least they made a dent in the time, right?

Aleks looks back down to his phone but a few seconds later, he senses a presence coming near his car and looks up just in time to see some older guy in glasses and a crooked smile coming by his car.

_ BRETT, GET THE FUCK OUT HERE. _

 

“Here by yourself?” The man asks. “Kinda dangerous to be out here alone.”

“Uh, no, I’m with someone.” Aleks nods. “Just waiting for him to pay.”

“Okay.” The man nods. “Where you from?”

Aleks swallows and his eyes dart around rapidly. “You know, I’m from… around here.”

“Where around here?”

“Close by.”

“Not very specific.” The man chuckles and walks closer. “Where-”

“Baaaaabe, oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Brett sighs as he rushes around the pump. “I didn’t mean to take so long.” He chuckles and looks over to the other guy, walking over to stand in front of the window. “Hey dude, leave my boyfriend alone. You can clearly tell he’s uncomfortable.”

_ God is fucking real. _

The man blinks a few times and opens his mouth. “Now hold on, I don’t think you should-”

“You know what, I don’t think you should be harassing a guy alone in his car, regardless of whether he has a boyfriend or not. Now go on, skedaddle.” Brett waves his hand dismissively. “I’m the only company my boyfriend needs.”

The man rolls his eyes and walks away, mumbling a curse under his breath as he goes back to his own car - far across the lot. Brett watches him walk away with a scoff and shakes his head before he grabs the pump. “Wow, I hope it’s not gonna be like this all the time in LA. You good?” he asks as he sticks the pump into the car.

“Yo, that was some fucking chivalry you pulled off,” Aleks says as he looks out the other window at the creepy man, who skids out of the lot.

Seriously, how brave of Brett! He just walked out here and asserted his dominance like the goddamn alpha male that he is and basically told that guy to fuck off with no hesitation! Aleks could never do that, at least not as smooth as Brett. As soon as Brett came out here, Aleks immediately felt safe in his presence, like nothing could harm him.

 

“I’ve had to act like Lindsey’s boyfriend a few times.” Brett shrugs. “Pretty used to it but it seems like with you lately, you’re a creepy guy magnet.”

“All these guys want a piece of me before I go to LA,” Aleks says with a chuckle. “Can’t blame them.”

“They should have enough sense though to know that you’re out of their league. You have much higher standards.” Brett squints his eyes at the screen, watching as the gallons rack up.

“Not really, I just want a hot guy with a big dick.”

“Like I said, you have high standards.”

Aleks quirks a grin and looks back down to his phone. “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

So many times, Aleks has met a hot guy with a dick that uh, isn’t really worth writing home about, so who knows how many ugly guys out there have the thickest dicks known to man. Aleks isn’t willing to test that theory though, he’s happy with the standards he’s set for himself. He’s added another notch to the criteria with the inclusion of strong guys but honestly, he’ll go for any guy that knows how to manhandle him.

Any guy that exudes an aura of dominance, much like Brett does, is good enough for Aleks.

* * *

Aleks and Brett have decided to stop at a rest stop in Utah to stretch out their legs and walk Mishka. Aleks’ cat, Celia, is resting peacefully in her bed and the temperature right now is cool so they can safely lock her in there for a few minutes. Just 9 more hours until they get to LA! Aleks is probably gonna give Brett the rest of the reins with driving so he can sleep - he’s tired as _fuck._

Aleks takes in a deep breath and overlooks the canyons. Vast areas of orange rock outline the landscape and contrast beautifully with the bright blue sky. Amazing weather, beautiful scenery, and a cool temperature… can it get better than this? Maybe some beaches instead. The canyons never fail to impress Aleks but he’s ready to explore the many beaches of LA and soak in the sun, as much as he can considering how pale he is.

Sometimes he wishes he could be naturally tan like Brett. And muscular. Manly…

_ Yo, don’t start thinking that shit again. _

 

“For what it’s worth,” Brett says as he walks up by Aleks with his hands on his hips, “I’m gonna miss coming out to Colorado.” He sighs and nods, looking out at the landscape. “Colorado has some sights LA doesn’t. It was good for a change every once in awhile.”

“For me, LA’s gonna have sights that Colorado doesn’t,” Aleks says. “Think I’m ready for a chance in pace.”

He’s completely ready to spread his wings and fly into the great unknown that is Los Angeles. Aleks might’ve had a slight meltdown when he was denied his apartment but that beacon of hope in the form of Brett saved him and showed him the light on the other side. The light is blinding and doesn’t expose what Aleks is about to walk into at all but it’s warm and it’s comforting so Aleks isn’t afraid at all.

“I think you’re gonna do real good in LA,” Brett tells him before he sits down on a rock, stroking his hand back through Mishka’s fur.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re the perfect LA boy,” Brett says. “You’re young, you’re bright, ambitious… and you’re pretty.” Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose and smiles. “LA is full of pretty people.”

Aleks scrunches his face slightly and glances down to Brett, shaking his head before he sits down beside him. “I don’t like being called pretty.”

“What’s wrong with being called pretty?” Brett asks, looking to Aleks.

“There’s nothing directly wrong with it.” Aleks sighs and runs his hand back through his hair. “But when people call guys pretty, it’s like… it’s always degrading, ya know? Like they’re calling them that to make them feel like less of a guy, just because they’re pretty.”

It’s why he hates being called a twink too. These words have certain connotations to them that Aleks doesn’t agree with and he hates being associated with it. He’s not at all ashamed of how he looks (not that much) but he just wishes that being pretty can cease to be a trait that makes you less of a man.

“I don’t mean it in a bad way though,” Brett tells him as he ushers Mishka onto his lap to scratch her back. “You _are_  pretty, genuinely pretty. There’s so many guys out there who’d kill to look like you.”

“I think they’d kill to look more like you.”

“It’s both.” Brett chuckles, looking back over to Aleks. “We’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. I’m that burly, ruggedly handsome guy, at least according to everyone else, and you’re the pretty, slender guy. It’s like apples and oranges, can’t compare them. Definitely not less of a man just because you’re pretty.”

Brett is one of the most honest people Aleks knows so he can trust him and what he says. If Brett doesn’t like someone, he isn’t shy about letting them know. In situations where he has to hide his dislike, he settles for being passive aggressive instead - the man can’t hold back how he feels no matter how hard he tries. It might be annoying for some but Aleks finds it to be an endearing trait of his that allows him to get more comfortable with Brett. There’s no sugarcoating with him.

 

Aleks cracks a smile and sidles closer to Brett, glancing over to him before he looks back out at the canyons. “Yeah, alright, I guess I’m pretty,” he says. “Wish other people had the same thinking as you.”

“Me too.” Brett nods sagely. “World would be a better place if more people were like me.”

“Dude, do you know how many more animals there’d be if everybody was like you? Fucking vegetarians all over and shit, it’d throw everything off balance.”

“But it’d be cool until then.” Brett chuckles, looking down to Mishka. “Mishka would have a lot more friends to play with too!” He says in a slightly higher pitched voice as he ruffles her fur.

“And nobody to take care of her because we’d be fucking dead with all the dangerous animals running around.”

“I’m here for a good time, Aleks, not a long time. It’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

Aleks raises his eyebrows briefly in acknowledgement. “Can’t really argue that,” he admits as he hands Brett the leash before standing up. “Yo, I’m gonna take a leak.”

“I’ll hold the fort,” Brett tells him. “Looks like it’s just me and you for a few minutes, Mishka! What should we do together?”

Aleks walks towards the direction of the bathrooms and right when he puts his hand on the door, he looks back to see Mishka licking at Brett’s nose. Brett’s real good with her, which isn’t a surprise considering he’s as much as an animal enthusiast as Aleks is, but they interact with each other naturally. Chances are, he’ll get along with Celia just as well.

A small smile tickles Aleks’ lips and the last thing he thinks before entering the bathroom is,  _ I think I really lucked out living with Brett. _

* * *

 

And finally, after traversing through the highest mountains, they have made it to a place with the deepest seas… Los Angeles! Well, one of the deepest seas.

Aleks can already feel the natural breeze from the ocean wafting towards the way of Brett’s home and the sun beats harshly down on him and he _loves it._ He’s not gonna love having to put on mass sunscreen anytime he leaves the house but that’s a small price he’s willing to pay.

Aleks opens the back doors of the car to let his dog out. Brett takes his leash and wraps it around his hand, giving a slight tug. “C’mon, Mishka, let’s take you inside your new home!” He says before looking up to Aleks. “Oh, hey, movers should be here in like… 10 minutes, give or take? We can put everything in my house and the rest can go to your storage unit or whatever.”

Sounds good to him! This whole trip has gone seamlessly so far! One minute they were in Colorado, calling movers to take Aleks’ shit out and now they’re in California, calling movers to take Aleks’ shit out! Some things never change! But the ride down has been fun with not a boring moment at all and Aleks even managed to catch up on an hour or two of sleep. To think that this wouldn’t be possible if Brett didn’t jump in to save the day! Aleks needs to think of something to pay back the debt besides, you know, literally paying it back.

 

Aleks grabs his cat’s comfortable plush cage and carries her out of the car, taking the stone walkway to Brett’s front door. He suddenly stops in his path when a pair of red hummingbirds flutter past him to settle on a nearby bush, on top of the white flowers. They’re rather quiet besides the very small chirps and their wings keep fluttering in place as they suck the nectar from the flowers.

Aleks tilts his head, squinting his eyes as he moves his face closer to get a better look. This is one of the gorgeous sights he’d never be able to find in Colorado, or at least he didn’t look hard enough.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Brett says as he walks back out to the front, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, these red ones always like to come here. Been thinking about putting up a hummingbird feeder for them.”

“Yo, that’d be dope,” Aleks says as he moves his head away. “Never saw one up close.”

“One of those new sights in LA you were talking about, huh?”

“Ha, yeah.” Aleks chuckles and makes his way to the door, glancing back at the hummingbirds before he walks inside.

It’s a decent sized place for 2 people, maybe a bit on the small side but Aleks can see himself living comfortably here. It’ll take awhile to get used to the new house and become accustomed with his new environment but his journey to LA has been nothing but nice so far. He sets the cage down and opens the door to let his cat walk out before he walks over to sit on Brett’s couch.

_ Our couch. _

 

“So after we move your shit, we’re gonna drive down to the warehouse and try to set up some things with everybody else,” Brett says as he walks back inside, closing the door behind him. “Don’t get too comfortable right now because we’re gonna be going back out soon.”

“Just wanna live it in as soon as I can,” Aleks says as he crosses his arms behind his head, looking up to the ceiling. “You like your house?”

“It’s good for what it is,” Brett says, sitting on top of the couch arm. “It’s tricky to find good places in LA but you already know that.”

“Yeah, figured that out when I lost my apartment to some chick willing to pay more.” Aleks rolls his eyes and averts his gaze to the floor. “Really wanted that Hollywood spot, man.”

Aleks had found a great apartment within walking distance of a tattoo shop and a liquor store! His two favorite things in life! Then suddenly, this _chick_  took it away from him! The apartment was expensive already but those two things pretty much made the price worth it, in Aleks’ mind at least.

“Already complaining about living with me? Yikes.” Brett hisses through his teeth.

“Yooooo, no, no.” Aleks shakes his head and looks over to Brett. “Dude, it's gonna be _kickass_  living with you.”

Brett chuckles and shakes his head, holding his hand up as he looks to Aleks. “It’s cool, I get what you mean. You had expectations and out of nowhere, somebody flipped them on you. It sucks but hey, at least you got me, right?”

“You’re just being a good boss though,” Aleks says. 

“Yeah. But it’s also what a good friend would do.” Brett smiles and reaches his hand over to pat Aleks’ back before he rubs at it gently. “Like I said, I can’t leave you stranded in LA. And you’ve done so much for me, for the channel, so I really don’t mind letting you live with me.”

Aleks’ shoulders slump as he relaxes in Brett’s touch. He doesn’t know what it is about Brett rubbing his back that makes it so much more comforting than when others do it but it just is. It’s one of those things which probably has a deep, complicated reason behind it but whatever it is, Aleks can’t figure it out right now.

He allows his eyes to fall shut for a few brief moments to bask in the relief before he slowly opens them again to look all around the general vicinity of Brett’s place.

_ Our place. _

 

“Welcome to your new home,” Brett says softly as he watches Aleks look around. “Hope you like it here.”

The corner of Aleks’ mouth slowly turns into a smile and it’s a smile that grows when Mishka runs up in between his legs to stand on her feet, begging for attention. Aleks strokes his hand back through her fur and a sense of familiarity flows through him.

Aleks doesn’t think he ever left home at all.


	3. Living In The Sunlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks has only been living with Brett for a few days but already, Brett has learned many things about him - like the fact that he's a tremendous deviant whose sole purpose in life is to tease him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna give a quick thanks to reading this story so far! :)
> 
> Also, this week is a DOUBLE UPLOAD week! On double upload weeks, I'll upload two chapters on Monday (like always) and then the second is posted on Friday at 7 PM as well. So tune in this Friday at 7 PM EST for Chapter 4!

**** **April 3rd, 2017**

 

Brett usually goes to the gym in the mornings but considering it was Aleks’ first night in his house, he decided to stay in this morning to help him acclimate.

Predictably, he wakes up before Aleks does so he's going to be a good host and make the both of them a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs, to celebrate their first night together - Aleks gets the bacon while Brett replaces his with an assortment of fruit, though that bacon does smell fantastic… damn him for being such a great cook! He'll always miss eating meat but the animals will thank him for it.

He thrusts the pan back and forth, breathing in the addicting aroma of bacon and resisting the urge to take a bite as he looks out the window of his kitchen. It’s a beautiful, sunny day, like it always is in California, but it feels more warm than usual… not a burning, scorching kind of warmth, rather it’s the kind that leaves you with the fuzzies. Brett hears footsteps and smiles to himself at the knowledge that Aleks, the reason for those fuzzies, is now awake.

It’s been awhile since Brett has lived with somebody else. Being alone has its perks but it can get lonely sometimes living by yourself, so he really appreciates the fact that Aleks is here with his natural entertaining presence and good looks. Brett just hopes he doesn’t get too attached to the idea of Aleks living here - it’s only temporary.

A few minutes later and he moves the bacon from the pan over to Aleks’ plate. Some of it sizzles onto his bare chest and Brett hisses at the pain, quickly grabbing a nearby napkin to pat the spot dry and cool. He probably should’ve worn a shirt but he doesn’t need to be at work for an hour or two and it’s so much more comfortable without all those extra layers.

“Morning,” Aleks yawns out as he runs his hand back through his hair, scratching at the back of his head.

Brett turns around to look at Aleks right as he finishes getting his plate together. Aleks is still in the early stages of waking up, trying to figure out who he is and what exactly his purpose is on this crazy planet called earth. It’s also very clear he just rolled out of bed because his hair is messy and his sweatpants hang low on his hips to show off the waistband of his boxers - and he’s as shirtless as Brett is. Looks like he feels the same way about not wearing so many layers.

_Kind of amazing how good he looks in the morning._

 

“Hey, you sleep okay?” Brett asks as he sets their plates down on the table. “Usually I have guests over and I can hear them snore through the walls but you didn’t make a peep.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told I’m like, deathly quiet,” Aleks says as he rubs at his eyes before blinking them open to get a better look at Brett. He blinks a few times, eyes quickly scanning over his body before he manages to avert his gaze to his food. “But uh… yeah, I slept good. You got a good bed.”

Brett often catches Aleks looking at him but he never thinks much of it. He can admit that he’s hotter now than he was before so if somebody wants to sneak a peek at him, who is Brett to tell them they can’t?

Now if Aleks were to suddenly throw himself at Brett, that’d be a different story and Brett isn’t sure how the ending to that would go but he doesn’t have to find out because it’s not going to happen. At the end of the day, he’s still Aleks’ boss and friend and he takes his job pretty seriously.

As seriously as he can with what they do for a living, anyways.

 

“Gotta make my guests comfortable,” Brett says while he walks over to the fridge to grab a carton of orange juice. “You want something to drink?”

“Yeah, can you get me a beer?” Aleks asks as he plops a seat by the table.

Brett snorts and looks over to Aleks, shaking his head before he takes out a glass from the cabinet. “Kind of too early for that. Pick something else.”

“It’s never too early to drink, Brett.”

“It is in this house for today. Again, pick something else.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and crosses his arms on top of the table, looking down to his food. “Orange juice,” he replies and then takes a whiff of his breakfast with an approving nod. “Yo, this smells fucking good.”

“I know I’m no Gordon Ramsay but yeah, I’d say I’m a good cook,” Brett says as he pours a glass of orange juice for Aleks before he comes back to the table with both glasses.

“At least one of us in this house can cook,” Aleks comments as he grabs his glass, takes a sip, and then sets it back down. “But if you need somebody to bake? I’m fuckin’ there.”

“You bake?” Brett chuckles, furrowing his eyebrows together in curiosity. “Since when?”

“Awhile, you’ve just never seen it,” Aleks answers while he grabs his bacon to take a bite. “Don’t underestimate my mad baking skills, dawg.”

“I’m not, I’ve just never seen it,” Brett defends as he grabs the bottle of syrup to drizzle it over his pancakes. “We don’t exactly know each other too well, I mean, not as well as you and James might know each other.”

“It’s kind of weird, right? We’ve known each other the longest but there’s still shit we don’t know about the other.”

“Yeah…” Brett slowly reaches over to grab his knife, twisting the stem of it around idly in his fingers. “There’s quite a few things.”

_Like the fact that I’m fooling around with other guys._

And Brett has been doing this for a few months now too! He’s not romantically interested in any of them but he sure does find them attractive. Well, he finds a certain _type_  attractive and he’s got a huge thing for the pretty boys. In fact, he’s going out with one tonight! Yeah, this one has short blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and a smooth looking body that Brett can totally wreck and they’ll just take it.

Brett’s still plenty interested in girls but the sex with guys is different. It’s like apples and oranges and lately, Brett’s been interested in oranges. The sex with girls tends to be more sensual for him whereas the sex with guys is more animalistic. You can be sensual with guys too, as well as being rough with girls, but more often than not for Brett and his guys, it’s hardcore and that’s the thing Brett has been needing in his sex life lately.

He’s not really trying to hide it (too much) but he’s also not going to make a spectacle of this new development in his life either. It’s nobody else’s business who he decides to fuck around with. If they know, they know and if they don’t, they don’t!

 

“Guess we’ll find out more about each other then,” Aleks says right as he finishes his sliver of bacon, wiping his hands off afterwards. “Like, I just found out that you make some fucking kickass bacon.”

“Maybe you show me how to bake and I’ll show you how to cook,” Brett says, slicing into his pancakes and stabbing a fork into it to take bites. “Sound like a deal?”

“Can you show me how to get fucking ripped like you too?”

“Sure, if you promise to stick to the routine I use.”

“... you can just show me how to cook.”

“Yeah, I thought so.”

Aleks’ body is great right now and the perfect amount of slender. He _seems_  healthy but it wouldn’t hurt to help him find a workout regime that works for him specifically. And Aleks will probably teach Brett a few things too, like… how to roll a joint the best way, if Brett ever wants to get into that. He only knows that off the top of his head but as Aleks said, there’s a lot they don’t know about each other.

The journey to LA has ended but the journey of Aleks and Brett has just begun.

* * *

 

**April 6th, 2017**

 

Aleks’ grimaces and hisses through his teeth before he gently bites at his bottom lip. “Dude, this shit is burning my scalp.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what bleach does, buddy,” Brett says as he brushes more of the bleach into Aleks’ hair. “It’s literally stripping the pigment from your hair.”

“Yo, that’s fucked up, I’m gonna lose the color of my hair?!”

“The hair you have now, yes,” Lindsey answers. “But then your roots will grow in with your natural hair color and it’ll be back to normal.”

“Exactly! You got nooooothing to worry about, Aleks,” Brett assures him, even patting his head before he continues bleaching his hair.

Brett’s never bleached his own hair before, or done much of anything to it, yet his hair still decides to betray him. He misses having a hairline but he supposes he pulls off his current look now - it was a pretty big hit with that blonde twink he went out with the other night. In the blonde’s words, it made Brett look even more like a daddy and that was like music to Brett’s ears. Who knew being called daddy could be so hot? Hotter than usual, anyways...

 

“I better look fucking hot by the end of this, fellas,” Aleks says as he closes his eyes. “Ya boy, Aleks, still needs to get dates.”

“I can actually see you looking pretty hot as a blonde,” Brett tells him. “Chicks everywhere will be wanting a piece of you.”

“Woah man, what about the guys?” Aleks asks. “I’m equal opportunity here.”

Brett smirks and looks up into the lens of the recording camera. “Especially the guys.” And then he looks over to James, nodding his head. “Hey, James, you think Aleks would be a hot blonde?”

Aleks and James have one of the closest platonic bonds that Brett has ever seen in two people. He still remembers the day he met James for the first time because he was with Aleks and Brett immediately assumed they were dating. They just _looked_  the part, you know?

_Brett laughs at the fan’s joke, whatever it was, but stops when he feels a presence behind him. When he turns around, he sees Aleks and his long, black hair and he can’t help but give him a bright smile. “Hey, what are you doing here at PAX? Your mom’s letting you out alone?”_

_“Yo, shut up," Aleks scoffs and turns to James, patting his chest. “I’m here with this one.” He smiles up at James, flipping his hair back. “This is James. We’re kind of getting to know each other”_

_“Ohh, UberHaxorNova, right?” Brett asks, looking James up and down before he looks to Aleks.“So uh, you two are… getting close?”_

_“Dude, I actually blew Aleks off the first time he tried to talk to me.” James laughs and wraps his arm around Aleks’ shoulder to pull him close. “But somehow we ended up actually talking and I’m kind of beating my own ass for it.”_

_“You should, Aleks is real cool,” Brett tells him with a grin before he narrows his eyes, pointing his finger back and forth between the two. “Still isn’t answering my question though… are you guys like, friendly close or…”_

_Aleks’ eyes widen and he laughs nervously before shaking his head. “No, just friends.”_

_“Yeah man, I’m straight.” James laughs as well. “Maybe in some parallel universe, it’s like that. But not here.”_

_“Oh god, I feel like a dumbass.” Brett runs his hand down his face in irritation at himself. “Sorry, I-”_

_“You’re actually not the first one,” James assures him._

_“People really like to think we’re together,” Aleks says. “I don’t get it.”_

… but alas, they’re just the bestest of friends. Even then, they’re still pretty cute together and most of their viewers think so too. Cow Chop wouldn’t be riding this quick train to success if it weren’t for the insane amount of chemistry between those two.

 

James walks over in front of the table and puts his hand under his chin, rubbing at it with his thumb studiously. “Hmm… I dunno, I gotta see it for myself. Maybe.”

“You’re no help,” Brett says. “Lindsey?”

“I personally think Aleks can pull it off.” Lindsey looks down to Aleks with a smile. “Pale skin and bleach blonde hair looks good together.”

“Lindsey’s my girl. High five me, Linds.” Aleks holds his hand up and clenches his fist in victory afterwards when Lindsey high fives him back. “Hell yeah.”

Ah, Lindsey, always the nice one. She doesn’t have a bad word to say about anybody, which makes the times she _does_  go off on somebody that much more scary. She’s an absolute sweetheart and Brett’s glad that Lindsey is his partner in crime, out of everybody else, to manage all these chaotic kids. It’s about fucking time she gets featured in a video so everybody else can love her as much as Brett does!

Lindsey’s also the only person Brett has told about his sexual curiosity and what he’s been doing to deal with it. Brett trusts her 100% - she’s the little sister he’s always wanted.

 

“We have two yes, one maybe, what do you think, Trev?” Brett asks.

“Sure, man.”

“Three yes, one maybe, let’s just end it there.” Brett pats Aleks’ head and peers down at him with a smile. “See, you’re gonna look fine! More than fine, you’re gonna look _hot.”_

Aleks is quite hot already but he’s going to look pretty damn good with the blonde too. It’s definitely going to make him look like more of a pretty twink than he already is so Brett isn’t sure how Aleks is going to feel about the increase in comments like that but he’ll shut it down. He’s got Aleks’ back, bro! Literally too, like if Aleks ever wants to- _don’t even go there._

“He’s gonna look kinda twinky,” Joe says, scratching at his nose.

“Hey, no calling people twinks in this office,” Brett says, raising a finger as he looks to Joe. “We’ll only accept otters and bears.”

Aleks looks up to Brett with a bit of a bashful smile before he looks down to the table again. It flashes on his face so quickly that nobody even notices.

“What’s an otter?” Trevor asks.

“It’s what Joe is,” Aleks says, clasping his hands on top of the table. “They’re hairy twinks.”

Joe beams heavily, running his hand back through his hair. “Hey, I’m pretty and hairy, I’ll take it.”

“So what would be a bear?” Trevor goes on to ask. “Just a bigger otter?”

“Nah, it’d be like Brett,” James says.

“No, Brett’s more like…” Aleks presses his lips together in thought and looks down to his hands. He narrows his eyes in further contemplation before he finally slams his hand down on the table with a grin. “I got it!” He exclaims with a bright smile. “Yo, Brett’s a daddy.”

_You are at work. You are working. You are on CAMERA._

Brett swallows heavily and takes a deep breath before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I’m the daddy in charge of all these kids who can’t fucking resist the urge to break something and inflict harm on others.”

That sounded smooth, didn’t it? Nobody knows that Brett is having an internal crisis at all! Daddy doesn’t even fit with the classification of otters and bears, then again, neither does twink but still! Aleks just… went ahead and said that out loud.

About Brett. Where Brett could hear.

Brett knows that Aleks is a deviant but he doubts Aleks knows about that particular kink of his - come to think of it, they don’t know much about each other when it comes to that…

_It’s probably for the best._

 

“Hey!” James cuts in. “How can you speak ill of your own kids when their destructive ways are what this channel is built on?”

“Gotta find a way to profit off you little shits somehow,” Brett answers.

“Hey, how long is this shit staying in my hair again?” Aleks asks.

“40 minutes,” Lindsey responds as she picks up the bottle, squinting her eyes at the instructions. “Yeah, that’s what it says. Any longer and your hair will fall out. I don’t think you’d be too happy about that.”

“If I go bald, I’m quitting this channel,” Aleks says as he crosses his arms over his chest. “I didn’t sign up for that.”

“No you won’t!” Brett laughs. “You live with me, you live under my rules, so you’re stuck here for eternity.”

“Worst daddy ever,” Aleks mumbles.

Brett closes his eyes and takes in another deep breath, choosing to ignore that so he can focus on getting all of this bleach over every single inch of his hair. He’s gotta slather it all over, until his hair is completely coated, otherwise he’s gonna come out with splotches all over and that’s not gonna be a good look at all and Aleks will kill him for it. There’s a lot Brett needs to focus on right now.

In the back of his mind is a feeling that Aleks will probably be the death of him one day and his vicious nature is one of the probable causes but the other is when he says shit like _that._

* * *

 

By some miracle of god, Brett and Aleks make it home completely alright despite the immense amount of pepper spray levied onto their beings hours prior. Their eyes still sting but apart from that, there’s almost no evidence. In fact, Brett is whistling pleasantly as he walks into his house but the whistling stops when he hears Aleks stomping past him and into the bathroom. He furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head, slowly following after Aleks.

“Yo, you good?” Brett asks.

There’s no answer.

Brett gnaws at his bottom lip as he observes Aleks looking at his reflection in the mirror, his fingers running back through his now orange hair. His lips have ever so slightly scrunched themselves and his eyes are widened the tiniest bit -  from anybody looking far away, Aleks appears fine, but up close, you can see the discrepancies in his expression that show he’s currently going through some mad shit.

Aleks whines quietly and he screws his eyes shut, fingers wringing themselves into the strands of his hair to pull on them. “You guys said it’d be platinum blonde…”

Brett sighs and presses his lips together as he walks into the bathroom beside Aleks. “Me and Lindsey were talking about that afterwards. Think yours and Trevor’s hair were too dark to go like that.”

When he looks at Aleks, he feels bad. It’s obvious he’s not a big fan of the new color and Brett can sense some of his life draining out of him at his preconceived knowledge that he’s not as hot anymore but Brett thinks he looks fine. It’s not about what he thinks, however, it’s what Aleks thinks about himself and Brett wants to do or say something to assure him otherwise.

 

“So this is the lightest it’ll go?” Aleks asks, his shoulders slumping.

“No, it just needs to be bleached again I think,” Brett answers. “Hey, at least you’re not balding like me.”

Brett sees the faintest of grins on Aleks’ face but the sound of him chuckling is what confirms that Aleks is _slightly_  better now. Even if it was for a few seconds, Brett’s glad to give him some modicum of happiness.

He ends up grinning himself, far bigger than Aleks’, and he rests a hand on the back of Aleks’ head to scratch at the back of his scalp. “Besides,” he shrugs, “you still look good.”

“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” Aleks says as he opens his eyes.

“Yeah.” Brett nods and chuckles. ‘But you do. I think you’re just shocked by how different this looks.”

Aleks presses his lips together and drops his hands, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s real fucking different,” he mumbles. “You seriously think this looks good?”

“I told you, _yes,”_ Brett stresses as he reaches his hands up to grab Aleks’ shoulders so he can lead him out of the bathroom. “Stop looking at yourself or you’ll make it worse.”

Aleks sighs and runs his fingers back through his hair again. “Thanks… I guess.”

“You can always dye it back,” Brett tells him. “Just gotta have this in for like, a month, and that’s it! You can go back to normal!”

Or he can take the leap into being an actual platinum blonde, though Brett can appreciate the emo aesthetic Aleks has. Aleks can pull off anything in Brett’s eyes. Aleks has a unique look and can do any style. Now that they’re in California, it could be time for a change in appearance! Brett can see Aleks wearing tanktops and shorts with platinum blonde hair and sunglasses, walking along the beach. Then Aleks will take off his tanktop and overlook the ocean…

_What was I doing?_

 

“Let’s dye it back tomorrow,” Aleks says.

“Can’t do that, otherwise it’ll kinda shit all over the First goals Rooster Teeth set out for us.”

It’s pretty amazing that more than 4,000 people have signed up to Rooster Teeth First _just_  for Cow Chop. Cow Chop has only been around for a year but it already has this much support.

It means the world to Brett because he’s been working his ass off to manage the channel and keep it stable while Aleks and James focus on maximizing their creative output. Sometimes Brett wishes that others would know exactly what his job entails instead of accusing him of doing nothing but hopefully the LA move will show everybody what exactly he does.

Brett doesn’t need the affirmation from other people as much as Aleks does, though it seems like Aleks just wants approval on how he looks. Brett is happy to give him that approval, not to make him happy but because it’s true and he should know the truth that he’s damn good looking. Sometimes _too_  good looking, but that’ll stay a thought never to see the light of day.

“So what the fuck can I do to my hair then?” Aleks asks.

“You really need to stop whining,” Brett warns as he lets go of Aleks’ shoulders to reach into his pocket for his phone. “Tell you what - we’ll go to the salon tomorrow and we’ll at least get your hair fixed, make it less orange. How does that sound?”

Aleks watches as Brett’s fingers slide away on his phone and his lips purse to the side in thought. He takes a deep breath before he looks off to the side with a shrug. “Sounds cool,” he answers softly. “Anything they can do will probably be better than this.”

“That’s the spirit!” Brett smiles hugely and looks up to Aleks, gently pushing at his shoulder. “You’re already at your lowest so you have nowhere to go but up!”

“So you admit this is my ugliest.”

“No, I said this is your _lowest,”_ Brett clarifies. “You’re still good looking.”

Aleks tilts his head and squints his eyes at Brett, blinking a few times as his mind tries to process what he’s saying.

Brett rolls his eyes and shakes his head, holding up his other hand. “Don’t think too hard about it, I’m saying you look good no matter what. Hey, you know what’ll cheer you up though?”

“My old hair?”

“Pizza! I’ll order some for us, what do you want on yours?”

“Ooh, pizza, I’m into that shit.” Aleks grins and nods, clapping his hands together. “Put some jalapenos on my half, my man.”

“You got it, buddy.” Brett taps the contact for his favorite pizza place and puts the phone to his ear. “Gimme a few minutes and that pizza will be on its way!”

Pizza, Brett thinks, is the answer to many of life’s misfortunes and tonight, he’s going to show Aleks why it’s the best answer. Bad hair day? Pizza. Tough day at work? Pizza. Bored? Pizza. He’s happy to follow along the yellow brick road to ultimate fitness but he’s not willing to give up pizza for that - that’s the one exception besides his one cheat day every week.

 

The rest of the night is spent with the both of them sharing a large pizza, playing Overwatch, yelling at idiots online, and flipping their shit when they lose because _“dude, what the fuck, our healer is fuckin’ jerking his dick!”_ All of that anger-laced adrenaline, however, is a great distraction and all Aleks can think about is the many idiots online instead of his brassy orange hair.

Besides Brett. Then again, he never thought Aleks’ hair or anything about his looks were ruined in the first place.

* * *

 

**April 7th, 2017**

 

Brett purveys the Starbucks menu once more before he shrugs and takes out his wallet. “I’m just gonna get an iced black coffee,” he says. “What do you usually get?”

Brett typically tries to avoid Starbucks because it’s expensive and their coffee isn’t as great as everybody hypes it up to be but it’s right next door to the salon so it’s pretty convenient. Aleks was craving some caffeine as well so he can get that early morning boost - they had to wake up a bit early to fit the salon in before work and Aleks is still a bit sleepy.

Brett remembers being Aleks’ age, waking up in the morning and praying for death to take him before he wakes up but ever since he started working out, he’s grown fond of the mornings. It’s no longer a part of his day that he dreads but rather an opportunity to thrum up some energy to properly get through the rest of it and even if he doesn’t end up going to the gym, he’ll find some other method to fully wake him up, such as tending to his developing backyard garden.

Although he has a daily routine, he’ll still change it up once in awhile. Brett doesn’t wanna get too complacent and he needs a bit of change each day. It’s another reason why he likes the fact that Aleks is living with him now - his days at home have become a tad more interesting.

 

Aleks’ eyes scan over the menu but he already knows what he wants. “I get those uh, cinnamon bun hot chocolates.”

“Those _what?”_

“It’s a hot chocolate but it comes with extra shit so at the end, it’s got a cinnamon bun taste. It’s good as fuck, dude.”

“How much diabetes does that hold?”

“It’s 1 pump of everything - mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, caramel, and then you get a milk and cream base and top the shit off with whipped cream and more cinnamon. You haven’t lived until you tried it.”

“If you have to get _all_  that extra shit in your coffee, it’s not even coffee anymore, dude.” Brett laughs and looks over to Aleks. “That’s such a complicated order to remember.”

“Maybe for somebody as old as you,” Aleks says as he adjusts the beanie on his head and then he moves a hand back to rub at the back of his neck.

 _“I’m Aleks,”_ Brett mocks, _“I’m gonna make fun of Brett for being old even though I want an older guy to dick me down.”_

“YO!” Aleks shoves Brett’s shoulder and shakes his head when Brett starts laughing. “You’re a fucking _dick.”_

Believe it or not, Brett’s age is a slight insecurity of his. He knows he really isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things but when he works with people younger than him, it makes Brett realize how much more life experience he has in comparison and it reminds him that he’s just that bit closer to death than they all are.

Brett still can’t believe that he’s an actual full grown man with responsibilities running a business, an unorthodox business but it’s just as real as every other business out there. He has so much in his life that he needs to control and it’s kind of intimidating sometimes. Sometimes this insecurity will strike but other times it lays dormant, like right now as they’re teasing each other in good fun, like friends usually do.

 

They grab their drinks and head right back out, into the blistering California heat. Brett is about to ask Aleks why the hell he decided to buy a hot chocolate but the kid’s still accustomed to Colorado temperatures - he’ll let it slide this once.

“So they’ll fix it, right?” Aleks asks as he takes a sip of his intensely sweet hot chocolate, hissing slightly at the hot temperature of it. “My hair?”

“You don’t trust them?” Brett grins, taking a long sip of his iced black coffee, letting out an _“ah”_ in satisfaction at the refreshing chill.

“Never had my hair dyed before,” Aleks says. “By like, a professional.”

“They know how to do it better than me so you can take some comfort in that.”

“What if they still mess it up? I’m gonna have to like, use that fucking wig I bought for Class of 198x to cover up my disaster hair.”

Brett snorts and glances over to Aleks in incredulity as he opens the door to the salon for him. “And then people will look at you and wonder why this asshole is still stuck in the 80’s. You’re thinking too hard, bro. Relax and let the professionals do what they’re paid to do.”

“I’m chill, bro. Just cautious,” Aleks says as he walks into the salon with Brett following behind him to check in.

That’s fair. Brett understands why Aleks is so finicky about his looks because, although he’s not as meticulous as Aleks is, he began working out because he wanted to improve his own looks and he’s been strict about keeping it up.

He can’t do much with his own face anymore because he’s sort of hit the age threshold on that and his hair, well, there’s no saving him there but he can at least control his body and sculpt it into a beautiful masterpiece that even he loves to see, and others… especially the others.

 

After checking in, they grab a seat in the waiting area and as Aleks takes out his phone, Brett grabs a nearby men’s magazine to skim through. He raises his eyebrows when he hears Aleks saying his name and he tilts his head towards Aleks to show that he’s paying attention.

“Yo, uh, did you book the flights to Austin yet?” Aleks asks. “Kinda reminded myself talking about the show.”

“Booked them a few days ago.” Brett confirms his own words with a nod. “Leave the 14th, come back the 17th, film for the show in between those days. Gives us just enough time to do whatever we need to do.”

“It’s like, DnD stuff, right?”

“That it is.”

“Have you played it before?”

Brett looks up to the ceiling in thought and pokes his tongue around the inside of his cheek. “A few times. I know the basics,” he answers, looking back down to Aleks. “Have you?”

“Nah, bro, I’m no nerd.”

Brett raises a pointed eyebrow before his eyes move to stare at the slight bit of orange poking out from Aleks’ beanie. “That orange hair makes you look like a huge one.”

Aleks shakes his head and pulls his beanie down more, holding a hand up to Brett. “Don’t even talk to me, bro.”

“Aleks, come on.” Brett chuckles and lowers the magazine, reaching his hand over to pat Aleks’ shoulder. “I was kidding… Aleks?”

No response. Aleks just tips his nose in the air.

“Aleks… buddy… it’s just jokes!”

“I’m in a different room,” Aleks says, reaching for his hot chocolate to take a long, languid sip.

Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose and leans back on the chair before picking up his magazine. “You’re a baby.”

Aleks looks over to Brett with a smirk, his eyes trailing his body up and down before he averts his attention back down to his phone. “You’re a daddy,” he mumbles.

_We’re not even at work yet. We’re not even on CAMERA._

“You know what, I gotta take a leak anyways.” Brett sighs and stands up from the chair, dropping the magazine again. “Better not do anything to my drink.”

“Yeah, I really wanna mess with daddy’s boring ass coffee.”

Thankfully, Brett’s back is already turned to Aleks so Aleks doesn’t see his widened eyes, his tightly pressed lips, and he could probably see Brett’s clenched fists if he was looking but Aleks’ eyes stay mostly glued to his phone.

 

When anybody else calls Brett that, it doesn’t do anything. It’s just a word, a name. Nothing more to it. But every single time it has come out of Aleks’ mouth, Brett ends up hearing it as something more and he hates himself for it.

There’s a lot of things that Brett has learned about Aleks in their brief time living together so far. Aleks isn’t a morning person, which is understandable. Aleks is a terrific baker, which is something Brett could never have guessed.

But Aleks is also a tremendous deviant whose sole pleasure in life is to rile up and tease the hell out of everybody he knows, which is entirely along the scope of what Brett was expecting from him but he didn’t think Aleks would be teasing him like _this._

The worst part? Aleks doesn’t even fucking know what it does to Brett. He’s never known _any_  of the things he’s done to Brett but it’s going to have to stay like that because Brett is a firm believer that you can’t mix business with pleasure. He saw the effects of it firsthand with the Creatures and he’s not going to let something like that ruin the channel that James and Aleks are trying so hard to provide content for.

_Life was so much easier when I thought I wasn’t into guys._


	4. Midnight Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cow Chop visits Austin, Texas, to film for Class of 198x and a certain older man from Aleks' past returns... and it's very possible that he's back for a little something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, there's an intake in sexual content this chapter! It's not super explicit but like, it's definitely there ;)

**** **April 16th, 2017**

 

Aleks shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he looks around this dark street, searching for a quick way to Denny’s. The quickest would be to get there by car but they flew to Austin, Texas so their only means of transportation is walking. Ubers are also available but hey, gotta save those dolla dolla bills, yo.

As he continues down the sidewalk with everybody else, he sees a hope spot in the form of a gated chain link fence that leads to a closed track and field spot but more importantly, it cuts away perfectly to Denny’s.

“Reserved for school use only,” Brett says, like it’s a reminder to Aleks to think carefully about what he’s doing, which is a pretty tall order.

Aleks scoffs and looks over to Brett before he grabs the top of the fence to overlook it. “C’mon, you can go through here directly to the Denny’s parking lot.”

“They’re buildings there!” James laughs. “They’re right in front, dude!”

“Yo, I’m serious, it cuts straight to Denny’s!” Aleks exclaims. “This is the best way to go!” And then he opens the gate, completely ignoring anything and everything his friends are saying.

Besides, it’s totally selfish that this track is reserved for school use only. They’re preventing others from traversing an easy route that leads to the best guilty pleasure food in history! Why shouldn’t Aleks take advantage of all his resources? What’s the worst that can happen, right?

Brett sighs and shakes his head as he follows after Aleks, everybody else behind him. “This is what happens in small towns,” he says, “there’s not enough to keep kids interested in good stuff and then they get into the bad stuff like Aleksandr here.”

“So punish me for it,” Aleks retorts without a thought as he glances back to Brett before looking forward again.

“Alright, c’mere and I’ll pull you over my knee and give you a good spanking.”

“Hey.” Aleks stops and turns to fully face Brett before he looks him up and down with a grin. “Better not threaten me with a good time,” he says as he looks over to Trevor’s camera, waggling his eyebrows and winking into the lens before he continues on his way.

It’s much easier now to tease Brett like this than before. Brett and him have always been friends but Aleks still saw him as that intimidating, older figure that he embarrassingly used to lust after. They haven’t been living together for too long but it’s kind of hard to stay intimidated by a guy who actively replenishes his hummingbird feeders and graciously tends to his plants - Aleks is grateful because he really doesn’t need to be thinking about his boss like that in the first place.

Aleks is actually adjusting to the move with surprising quickness but it wouldn’t have been possible without Brett’s warm hospitality. He’s been looking out for Aleks since the day he moved in by driving him to and from work, paying to get his hair fixed (which is a pretty nice dirty blonde color now), and cooking him the best fucking breakfast Aleks has ever had the pleasure of tasting, every single morning. How the fuck did he live before without Brett’s bacon?

_ Totally getting some bacon at Denny’s. _

 

They all cut through the field with varying levels of difficulty and Aleks just barely manages to climb over the fence with the help of a nearby pole. For his troubles, he’s rewarded with a harsh fall right on his ass - he’s thankful the grass cushioned his fall because if he landed on the sidewalk, his ass would be completely broken and not in the sexy way either.

“Dude, fuck, my tailbone.” Aleks hisses, holding onto his ass as his friends watch on with laughter, all except Brett who isn’t making noise at all and is only watching in amusement.

“You almost made it.” Brett chuckles. “Can you walk by yourself?”

Aleks takes a deep breath as he slowly makes it back onto his feet to take a few experimental steps. “Yeah… hurts like shit though,” he says as he glances back to the fence with a faint fury in his eyes.

“You know the worst part though?” James says as he places his hands on his hips, looking around the dark outdoors. “Denny’s is still like, 3 blocks away. This was all for nothin’.”

“Saved a few minutes,” Aleks says. “Don’t you know? Time is money.”

“Is it worth a broken ass though? Don’t you need that to…?” James makes an “O” with one of his hands and sticks his other finger through it, thrusting in and out.

Aleks barks out a laugh and shakes his head, beginning to walk away towards the direction of Denny’s. “Honestly bro, I’ve been so shit out of luck in that lately that it doesn’t even fuckin’ matter.”

He still hasn’t found any action since coming to LA, in fact, his return-on-messaging ratio has drastically gone down. No guys seem to be interested and it’s fucking baffling. Aleks is a man perfectly willing to be fucked and when you’re looking for a hookup, that’s all that should matter (along with passable looks) but not to the men of LA, it seems. Aleks doesn’t even land on their radar - it’s real discouraging.

Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose and claps a hand on Aleks’ shoulder to firmly stop him. “I can at least make your luck a tiny bit better - hop on my back, Uncle Brett will take you to paradise,” he says as he gets down onto his knees.

Aleks doesn’t know how many times he’s asked himself what he’d do without Brett since moving in with him but this is another notch on the list. He’s fine walking but come on, it’s a piggyback ride! Who can say no to those? And Aleks is quite a big fan of not doing anything, which is becoming increasingly more common with him and he knows he should start working out again but there’s just too much going on. After a long day, hopping onto the treadmill is the last thing he wants.

“What happened to being daddy?” Aleks asks as he grabs onto Brett’s shoulders before climbing onto his very built back. He feels Brett’s body still for a few moments, frozen in place, before he suddenly stands up straight on his feet with his hands holding Aleks’ legs in place around his waist.

“You can be both,” Brett answers as he continues walking again, looking up just in time to see James hitting a pole that decided to stick itself in the middle of the sidewalk. He laughs and squints his eyes in curiosity at the pole, watching it before it disappears behind his back. “Okay, who’s the fucking architect that thought of that?”

“I dunno!” James’ voice is muffled as his hand places itself over his mouth. He glares back at the pole, shaking his head before he faces forward again. “Cut that.”

“No man, this is good content,” Trevor replies. “All of us walking at night through the streets and hurting ourselves in the name of Denny’s.”

“And there it is!” Aleks points his finger at the Denny’s from over Brett’s shoulder when he sees it directly in his eyesight, right across the street. “See, I fuckin’ told you guys it was close. Dude, hold up, this Denny’s looks fancy as fuck.”

“In comparison to every other Denny’s, you mean?” Brett grins.

_ That’s fair. _

 

They cut across the empty street and over to the gas station next door to the Denny’s. The parking lot is littered with receipts and cups and there’s one trashed looking car at the pump with a beaten looking side door, a slight crack in the windshield to top it all off. As they walk past, Aleks peers inside to see a pipe lounging on top the dashboard along with an opened box of cigarettes.

He takes a whiff of the cool air and scrunches his nose at the familiar scent of cigarette smoke nearby aided by the sound of footsteps. Aleks turns his head to see a guy, probably in his 20’s, with a dirty white shirt and ripped tan khakis, visibly agitated as he takes a puff of his cigarette. Aleks proceeds to make the mistake of engaging in eye contact with this stranger, who says, “Ay, you guys wanna get paid real quick?”

Aleks says nothing and quickly looks back forward, tightening his arms around Brett’s neck. Brett squeezes his legs in silent reassurance and Aleks quirks a smile at the knowledge that Brett is right here and ready to throw down for everybody’s behalf if needed.

“I just need a phone to use to call my baby mama.” The man goes on, watching them all walk past. “Just real quick.”

“Sorry, dawg,” Trevor says. “We’re pretty out of luck too.”

This is thankfully the only notable thing that happens as they make it to the Denny’s lot. The man seems more irritable but doesn’t do a thing about it as he returns to his beaten up car. Aleks would hate to get into a fight, especially after he bruised his tailbone! There’s only so much rough housing he can take tonight! Unless it’s the fun kind, because Aleks can take that all day, every day.

“Alright, blondie, gotta let you off here,” Brett says as he leans back, allowing Aleks’ feet to drop to the ground so he can safely get off.

“Brett, can I get a piggyback ride too?” Trevor asks.

“Yeah, me and Trevor want in on that,” James adds.

“You guys are like that guy at the gas station, all three of ya’s is out of luck! I can do that for Aleks because he weighs like, 0 pounds,” Brett notes while he brings his hand over to Aleks’ shoulder to pick off some fuzz.

Aleks grins and points to himself with both thumbs. ‘That’s right, boys, get on my level.”

“0 pounds of muscle,” James scoffs. Aleks shoves him by the shoulders for the comment before he makes it inside the Denny’s with Brett, Dumb and Dumber following close behind.

_ Really should start working out again though. _

 

He feels his phone vibrating in his pocket and furrows his eyebrows in slight confusion as he takes it out. Who in the world could be texting him so late at night? Ooh, what if it’s a Tinder match! Or better, a guy on Grindr hitting him up! Aleks has had nothing but luck finding guys in Texas and when he sees who the text is from, this notion continues to be affirmed.

 

**[Geoff]** Hey, totally missed you at the office. What are you doing tonight?

 

Anticipation builds up inside Aleks and it escapes through his mouth in a hot breath. He closes his lips and swallows heavily, glancing up to see that they’re all now at their table, booths on either side. Aleks slides in first with James sliding beside him whereas Brett and Trevor take the other side - in fact, Brett seems to be just as engrossed in his own phone. His eyes dart back and forth before they glance back down to his phone so he can type his response:

 

**[Himself]** At Denny’s right now. We fuckin walked all the way here so I’m just gonna crash totally as soon as we’re done.

 

Kind of a shame because if he could drive, he’d head to Geoff’s place instead. There’s always fun to be had with Geoff Ramsey and it’s the kind of fun that Aleks has been lacking lately. He’s nice, completely funny, and doesn’t take himself too seriously but when it comes to the bedroom? Well…

_ Aleks cries out and grasps tightly at his comforter when Geoff pulls him back by the hair. “Fuck yeah, don’t you fucking stop,” he growls out through gritted teeth, crying out again in pain when Geoff lands a harsh smack to his ass and not once do his thrusts falter in pace. “One more time, c’mon, give it to me.” _

_ “You’re so fuckin’ bossy, you know that?” Geoff asks as he spanks him again, grinning when Aleks gives an even louder cry. “You act so bossy but you sound like such a brat.” _

_ “Just sounds like you don’t know how to handle me,” Aleks breathes out, looking back to Geoff when the grip on his hair loosens. “Didn’t think Geoff Ramsey of all people would have problems.” _

_ “Shut the fuck up.” Geoff tightens his grip in Aleks’ hair again and shoves his cheek into the bed, his other hand resting firmly on his upper back to keep Aleks’ body still while he hammers away ruthlessly inside him. “Daddy can handle your bratty ass just fine. You’re gonna be so good for daddy when he’s done, I promise.” _

_ Aleks rolls his lips back with a loud moan as the pleasure inside him bubbles, letting go of his lips with a smack before exhaling a hot breath. “Then fuck my bratty ass and make it yours,” he groans. “Fuck me hard, daddy, fucking wreck me.” _

That was almost a year ago and anytime he and Geoff have found themselves in the same city since, they’d meet up to continue that night.

Geoff is older, he’s experienced, and he can be as rough as Aleks wants him to be but another reason that Aleks likes to come back to Geoff is because he’s the first older guy Aleks has been with. It’s because of him that Aleks has such an affinity for older men - it was like trying out new food and afterwards wondering how you could’ve gone so long without it when it tastes that good. He exposed Aleks to a completely new realm of men and Aleks forever thanks him, and he will continue to thank him with the gift of his own body.

 

Brett glances up from his phone to see Aleks’ face, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “What are you planning?” Brett asks as he gently kicks Aleks’ foot under the table. “I don’t like the way you’re smiling.”

“Am I smiling?” Aleks asks as he looks back up to Brett. “I’m not planning anything, I swear.”

“Mmhm.” Brett hums. “I’m gonna keep an eye on you tonight.”

_ Buzz buzz. _

Aleks looks back down to his phone and the smile that was on his face comes back, much bigger than before at what Geoff has sent him:

 

**[Geoff]** How about I pick you guys up, drop you all off back at your hotel, and your hot ass can stay with me?

**[Geoff]** I’ll have you back in the morning. Scout’s honor.

 

_ I’M GETTING LAID TONIGHT, BITCHES. _

“Yeah, you’re fucking planning something.” Trevor chuckles. “I don’t trust you.”

“Planning to get our asses back home,” Aleks clarifies, his fingers tapping away quickly at his screen. “My man, Geoff, is gonna pick you guys up when you’re done and drop you off.”

 

**[Himself]** I’ll let you know when we’re done eating. Hope you don’t mind the blonde.

 

“You guys?” Brett raises an eyebrow. “Why us specifically? What about you?”

“Me and him are uh…” Aleks sets his phone down with a shrug. “We’re gonna do stuff.”

_ Sex stuff. _

Brett blinks a few times and looks back and forth before throwing his hands up in front of him. “Still doesn’t tell me-”

“Hey guys, sorry about the wait!” exclaims the waitress as she sets their drinks down on the table. “Do you guys know what you want? Or do we still need time?”

Aleks takes his Coke and happily gulps it down, very content to ignore Brett’s question. It’s not a big deal he’s fucking around with Geoff but he doesn’t really wanna talk about it. The only person who does know about him and Geoff is sitting next to Aleks right now and he’s giving him the most pointed look in the world as he sips his sweet tea.

“You gonna get it in tonight with Geoff again?” James mumbles quietly, but loud enough for Aleks to hear.

Aleks grins and looks back to James, giving a small nod. “Hell yeah, you know it.”

Brett taps his fingers idly against his glass as he looks back and forth between Aleks and James but the best friends don’t feel his gaze at all. He presses his lips together and shakes his head.  _ None of my business. _ Taking a deep breath, he exhales a short sigh and takes out his phone, smiling at his most recent message and he decides to diverts all of his attention towards that once more.

“Hold on, who the hell are _you_  texting?” Aleks asks as he leans over the table, but Brett holds his phone closer so nobody can see. “I don’t trust you.”

“Risinger,” Brett answers, glancing up to Aleks. “I’m like, trying to smooth things over with him after _this one,”_ he kicks James foot under the table and James grunts in response, “completely broke the Golden Gus.”

“Dude, I apologized!” James exclaims. “Jon even said it was cool! Come on, he’s still not pissy about it, right?”

And so Geoff is completely forgotten about until the very end of their dinner, when Aleks tells everybody that Geoff is outside waiting for them.

It’s been nearly a fucking month since Aleks has been laid but he’s totally ready to get on his hands and knees or spread his legs or do whatever position Geoff wants him in. He might not have been with anybody for almost a month but his fingers are just as capable and sometimes they’re better but in the most recent case, Aleks needs a lot more and Geoff’s cock is perfect. Seriously, it’s fucking _thick._

 

They all walk out of the Denny’s and Geoff rolls his window down to grin over at Aleks, resting his arm outside the window. “What are you fucking idiots doing out here without a car?” he asks.

Right now in these decrepit parking lots full of suspicious looking people, Geoff’s familiar voice is music to Aleks’ ears and radiates a vibe of safety.

“It was an excuse to get you out here!” Aleks calls out as he jogs on over to Geoff’s window. He looks into his eyes and licks along his lips with a slight grin, tilting his head. “Seriously though, it’s real awesome for you to do this.”

_ And me. _

“Anytime,” Geoff tells him, looking back to see everybody filtering into his car. He breathes in deeply and beckons Aleks closer with his hand before he puts it around his ear to whisper into it. “Good excuse to fuck your sweet ass too.” He pulls away with a wink and nods his head towards his passenger seat. “Now c’mon, get in. It gets _fucking_  creepy here at night.”

Buddy, you don’t even have to tell Aleks twice.

* * *

 

Aleks has never been in Geoff’s house before. They’d always meet up at Aleks’ home in Colorado or a hotel room but this is the first time he’s stepped foot inside the Ramsey house and… it’s super nice. He already gathered that from the videos but it’s another thing to actually be in here to see it up close. It’s not the kind of house you’d expect from somebody like Geoff whereas with somebody like Brett, it’s totally expected.

Aleks looks around the open living room and notices the small plants on the shelves, walking over to gently run his finger along one of the leaves and grinning to himself when he feels plastic. Huffing a chuckle through his nose, Aleks sets his hand down on the white sectional and runs it along the leather until he slides his hand off to grab the picture frame at the end - a black frame surrounds a picture of Geoff and Gavin in front of a waterfall, their arms wrapped around each other. Looks to be taken a few years ago.

“Silver Falls in Oregon,” Geoff tells him, tilting his head to look down at the picture with a soft smile but then his happy demeanor fades, his shoulders slump, and he rolls his lips back. Scratching his bicep, he takes a deep breath before he continues forward into the kitchen area. “Griffon wouldn’t stop teasing us about how much of a couple we looked like,” he goes on, maintaining a jubilant tone for Aleks’ sake.

Geoff and Gavin go way back, so far back that it spans to the beginning of Rooster Teeth. Aleks wasn’t a gigantic Rooster Teeth fan like some others - he knew just enough about them and what they did but only watched one or two videos. It was only after they partnered with Cow Chop that he figured he had to actually watch some of their videos and learn the history and he’s surprised at the amount of history between those two specifically. Gavin was once a fan but now, he and Geoff, one of the founders of Rooster Teeth, are best friends. He’s came a long way - they both have.

“Can’t blame her.” Aleks chuckles and sets the frame back down, glancing back at it before following Geoff. “Looks like some shit out of a romance movie. Nice place, by the way.”

Aleks likes Gavin. He’s cool. He’s funny. He’s also the best friend of his fuckbuddy so it’d be a bit weird if he didn’t, but that doesn’t matter too much to Gavin apparently because everytime he sees Aleks, he just… man, Aleks doesn’t even _know._ Gavin actively tries to be nice but Aleks can tell there’s something off in their interactions.

 

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Geoff smiles back at him. “You need a drink, blondie?”

“You like the blonde though, right?”

“Fuck yeah, I do. Hot as hell.”

Aleks grins and runs his fingers back through his hair. “Glad somebody thinks so. You  got whiskey?”

“Sure do.”

“Gimme some of that.”

“Alright, but I need something for it in return...” Geoff trails off as his gaze drop to Aleks’ lips, licking openly along his own as his hand slips around to rest on the small of Aleks’ back.

Aleks looks at Geoff to see what he’s doing and he mirrors the same expression while reaching his hands up to fist in the collar of his t-shirt. No more words need to be said. Aleks and Geoff meet each other at the same time to lock their lips together and Geoff slips his arms around Aleks’ waist to pull him in close as they deepen their kiss.

The older man, though he’s rough in most of their sexual interactions, is actually very sensual with their kisses. Though he bites at Aleks’ bottom lip and drags it out with his teeth, pushes his tongue around Aleks’ mouth to explore wherever he wants, he is in no way unforgiving. It shows that, although he wants to be rough, he recognizes the underlying need for gentleness and gives Aleks the opportunity to push back if he wants. Aleks isn’t looking for any sort of gentality right now, least he doesn’t think, but he does appreciate the effort - it doesn’t detract at all from their kiss.

Geoff presses in hard with his mouth, scratching his nails against Aleks’ back before he pulls his mouth away. He licks his lips clean and kisses Aleks one last time before he makes his way over to the liquor cabinet. Aleks swipes his finger along his lips with a grin as he goes by the island counter to sit on top the stool, going over their most recent kiss as a preview for the rest of their night.

 

“Won’t be drinking with you, unfortunately,” Geoff says as he takes out the whiskey, swiping a shot glass from nearby so he can pour Aleks a shot. “Trying to stay sober.”

“That’s cool,” Aleks says as he takes the glass. “So you’re quitting?”

“Trying too.” Geoff chuckles as he walks around the other side of the counter. “Been doing pretty good since I took my sabbatical though.”

“How’s that?” Aleks asks after taking his shot, pressing his fingers to his throat when he feels that familiar burn. “You seem happier though, like, a lot.”

It actually makes Geoff more attractive, not that he wasn’t pretty damn hot already, but there’s more of a glow to him that draws Aleks in a lot more than previous encounters.

Geoff shrugs. “Eh. Happier than before.” He feels his phone buzz in his jeans and takes it out. He sees the name at the top and swiftly swipes open the notification to read and respond. Aleks watches him with slight intrigue.

_ Was this what I looked like earlier? _

“Who’s texting you so late?” Aleks asks.

“Bet you asked the same thing when I texted you.” Geoff chuckles and sends the text before he looks up to Aleks. “Uh… it’s just Gavin.” He shrugs. “He’s uh, going through some shit with Meg. Yeah, kind of a rough patch… one in a series of many as of lately, but I ain’t gonna bore you with that shit.”

Of course. Who else would it have been? They’re best friends and it makes sense for  them to keep tabs on each other and vent to the other about every possible thing in their lives. Geoff had mentioned to him a few months ago, the last time he was in Colorado, about how he and Gavin aren’t able to hang around as much considering his very busy schedule but despite that, they’re still the closest of friends.

In a way, they sort of remind Aleks of him and Brett with how long they’ve known each other. Aleks even somewhat idolized Brett at first and now they’re living together, much like how Geoff and Gavin were at one point. Then there’s the age difference, the boss/employee relationship they have, and Geoff and Gavin sort of become a blueprint to Aleks as to how he and Brett’s friendship can go in the future.

 

“You make fuckin’ paint drying sound fun,” Aleks points out. “I don’t think there’s any way you can bore me.”

“Laying the compliments on thick tonight, I see.”

“Would I lie?”

“Fair enough.” Geoff chuckles and crosses his arms on the counter, straight across from Aleks.

“It’s cool though that you guys are still close, even with the distance and everything going on,” Aleks says, crossing his own arms on the counter and pressing them against Geoff’s. “Real fuckin’ strong friendship right there.”

“Yeah… our friendship is uh, real strong,” Geoff says softly, looking down to his arms. “Not many friends like us.”

“Did it get stronger when he moved in with you?” Aleks asks. “I know you two like, didn’t know each other too well before and he was a fan and everything so… nevermind, dumb question.”

“No such thing as dumb questions here, not from you,” Geoff assures him, looking up to Aleks with an equally assuring smile before he looks off to the side. “Yeah, pretty much though. He lived with me whenever he came to visit Austin, as long as he could on his visa, and we’d get closer each time he’d come over and then we um…” He swallows and gnaws at his bottom lip, fingers tapping quickly against his arm before he digs his nails into the skin. “Yup. Things haven’t been the same since.”

“For the better, right?”

“Oh, totally,” Geoff scoffs and leans back off the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. “For sure, yeah. He’s like, another part of me.”

Aleks raises his eyebrows and leans back off the counter as well. “Yeah? Bet you miss him a lot.”

“Definitely.” Geoff sighs and looks back up to Aleks, blinking a few times before a grin quickly flashes on his face, his demeanor instantly shifting. “Why are you asking? Got an ulterior motive or something?”

“I…” Aleks nods his head side to side before giving a shrug. “Yeah, kinda. Just reminds me of me and Brett,” he admits as he hops off the stool, shrugging off his jacket to lay it over the back. “Didn’t mean to play 20 questions with you, I swear.” He chuckles and runs his fingers back through his hair before he looks over to the stairs. “We can fuck, sorry.”

Geoff chuckles and walks over to Aleks, patting him on the ass before taking his hand. “You’re good, dude,” he assures as he leads them up the stairs. “If you ever need to talk to somebody, I’m here.”

“Me and him are good, I was just wondering,” Aleks says. “It’s good you and him are still tight.”

“Hell yeah, dude. Just busy as fuck, the both of us.”

Aleks snorts. “You’re gonna be busy fucking in a few minutes.”

“Gonna love every minute of it too,” Geoff says while he leads them down the hall, opening the door to his bedroom. “Now get that hot ass in there, I want to destroy you already.”

Aleks turns to face Geoff and lets go of his hand so he can grab at the belt loops of his jeans. He pulls Geoff’s body towards him and moves his face forward, tilting his head so his breath could ghost over Geoff’s skillful lips. “Is there like, a rule that says you _have_  to destroy me in there or do you wanna just go at it right here?” He whispers, looking down to Geoff’s lips.

“Right fuckin’ here,” Geoff mumbles and grabs at Aleks’ shoulders, turning him around to shove him up against the wall. Aleks can hear the sound of a belt buckle being undone and the “clank” of the metal alerts to him that he should follow suit and he does but it’s about the only thing of Geoff’s he follows for the rest of the night. Aleks isn’t really about following orders in the bedroom - he’s the one that dishes them out but if somebody is actually able to break him into pure submission, Aleks will happily submit. He just hasn’t found a guy able to do so.

Geoff Ramsey comes pretty damn close though.

* * *

**April 17th, 2017**

 

Aleks moans as he shifts his hips around, his hard cock grinding down against the bed while his arms tighten in their hold around the pillow to Geoff’s bed. “Ohhh fuck, yeah, m’so close, dude.”

Geoff mouths a kiss under Aleks’ ear before giving a moan of his own. “Go ahead and come for me - not coming until you do,” he breathes against his ear and his breaths grow louder in volume the closer he reaches to his climax, his thrusts falling off the lovely, steady rhythm they were taking as the pleasure begins to consume him.

A few more thrusts, a few more loud moans, and the two men come in quick succession after the other. Aleks rolls his lips back with a resounding hum when he feels Geoff settle inside him, indicating that he’s finished.

It’d be nicer if he didn’t wear a condom but it’s been sometime since the last time Aleks has been fucked by a guy and he isn’t too sure if Geoff’s fucked anybody in the past few weeks so better safe than sorry. Nonetheless, the sex is amazing (just as it was last night), and it’s the perfect start to the morning for both men.

Geoff pulls out of Aleks and climbs off the bed, stepping over to his trash can to throw away the used condom. Aleks rolls onto his back and crosses an arm behind his head, breathing in slowly to regain his energy. Really, who needs the gym when you can do _this?_ Given, you need to find a consistent, willing partner and Aleks hasn’t had too much luck there lately.

 

“So uh, long overdue but it’s nice to run into you again.” Geoff chuckles, looking back to Aleks as he walks to his bed. “Out of all the guys and girls that keep coming back, you’re definitely the hottest. And the loudest.”

“Am I now?” Aleks smirks and squints his eyes open at the older man. “I’ll take the second one as a compliment too.”

“It’s not supposed to be anything else,” Geoff affirms as he sits down on the edge of the bed, moving his hand over to rest on Aleks’ knee and slowly running it up and down the leg. “If you want, we can stop at a drive-thru somewhere before I take you back to your hotel, probably feeling hungry. What time is it?” He squints his own eyes and looks over to the digital clock but Aleks catches the time before he does.

“7:37 AM,” Aleks reads aloud. “Real early but… yeah, I should get back there anyways.” He shrugs and sits up on the bed. “They’re all probably wondering what’s going on, if they’re even awake.”

“Don’t want them to ask why you’re sleeping over with a recently divorced older guy, huh?”

“Replace sleeping with fucking and you fuckin’ nailed it, bro.” Aleks chuckles and gives another shrug. “It’s not the older guy thing, like, they know I got an older guy fetish but I just don’t want them knowing everything about my sex life.”

It’s not a big deal if Aleks is fucking employees from Rooster Teeth because Cow Chop isn’t an actual part of the company but it’s just a personal thing for him. If he were fucking James, for example, he’d wanna keep that to himself too. And if he were fucking Brett? Ha, that would definitely be something to keep to himself and even if he wanted to, Brett would make sure that wouldn’t get out to anyone - not that it’d ever happen. Why is Aleks even entertaining that hypothetical anyways?

Anyways, he’ll just tell his friends that Geoff wanted to talk business late at night, for some reason. Or he can just continue not to say anything about it at all because that’s worked out nicely for him so far. Can’t ever discuss something if you never make the effort to talk about it in the first place! No, Aleks can’t talk about his fun filled night with Geoff and all the ways Geoff spanked and marked him. In fact, Geoff gave him a new hickey this morning but as long as Aleks doesn’t talk about it, it’s cool!

 

“I ain’t offended.” Geoff raises his hands in surrender to show that he’s chill. “So you really do got a thing for the older guys, huh? You should fuckin’ hop on Brett then, I bet those tree trunk arms can tear you apart.”

_ Fuck, why is he entertaining that hypothetical? _

Aleks does a double take and grins weirdly at Geoff, looking him up and down. “He’s my boss. Aren’t you a boss?”

“Yeah,” Geoff answers casually. “But do I seem like a normal boss to you?”

Aleks raises his eyebrows briefly in acknowledgement. “Guess not. But Brett is. Sort of.”

“Look at it this way, Aleks, you two are both men. You both live together. You’re both fuckin’ hot as hell…” He raises his own eyebrows knowingly at Aleks before patting his knee and standing back up. “Nothing wrong with putting a little uh, _pleasure_  in your business every once in awhile. Just putting it out there.”

“Alright, but Brett’s still straight as hell,” Aleks reminds him.  _ Unfortunately. _

“So is spaghetti until it gets wet.” Geoff winks back at Aleks then walks over to his dresser to throw on some new clothes. “Well, when are you guys coming back to Austin? Real disappointed you’re leaving so soon.”

_ That’s… really cute. _

Aleks climbs off the bed as well to find his clothes from the previous night. “Not until RTX time, I think. July, isn’t it?”

“Uh huh. You wanna get together again?” Geoff asks as he slips on his jeans over his boxers. “Just whenever you’re free but if you’re planning to find some other hot, older guy to fuck, that’s cool too. Your business.”

“I mean…” Aleks licks along his lips and openly checks Geoff out, right as he pulls on his boxers. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right?”

This answer pleases Geoff greatly and he shows his appreciation by walking over to Aleks to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him in close. He looks down into his eyes and grins, quickly wetting his lips. “I’m looking forward to it already,” Geoff whispers before he seals their lips together and Aleks runs his hands upwards to grab onto Geoff’s shoulders to kiss him back.

Aleks is looking forward to it too.


	5. Code Ramsey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks tries to crack the literal curious case of Brett and Brett solves the curious case of Aleks and Geoff. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), he's pretty supportive of the whole thing but somebody else has a reason to be cautious about the potential matchup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the story for so far! It means a lot that there's some people out there reading this :')
> 
> Also, it's another double upload week! Chapter 6 will be uploaded Friday!

**** Aleks walks back into the hotel with a McDonald’s bag that contains varying amounts of hash browns and biscuits, already chewing away at the hash brown - with much quickness. He was pretty hungry after all and who can blame him, with as much sex as he and Geoff had the night before, along with their quickie this morning? There’s already an onset of soreness in his ass but Aleks loves it because it’s a reminder that he got fucking laid and the guy knew what he was doing too.

Kind of a shame Geoff lives so far from LA, otherwise Aleks would be fucking him a whole lot more. He wouldn’t mind getting to know him better too - like, _actually_  get to know him. Geoff’s a pretty neat, unique guy and Aleks loves being around him. Considering Geoff is on sabbatical, maybe they can like… spend a weekend together in LA? Or not. It’s just… a thought.

When he steps off the elevator into the hallway of his hotel room, he sees a familiar face coming out of his and Brett’s hotel room with a barely noticeable limp and his dark hair appears damp. On his pale neck are a few marks splayed throughout in a very noticeable red color, indicating that they were very recently made and… hey, he’s wearing the same clothes he did yesterday! What the hell happened to him?   


 

“Yo, Risinger.” Aleks nods his head at Jon, who looks to be a deer caught in headlights. “What’s up with you?”

Jon swallows and narrows his eyes, cocking his head. “What do you mean?” He asks, blinking a few times.

“You look like you got in a fight with a bear, bro.”

“Oh! It’s nothing.” Jon scoffs and shakes his head. “Uh, Brett let me spend the night.”

_ “Risinger.” Brett answers, glancing up to Aleks. “I’m like, trying to smooth things over with him after  _ **_this one_ ** _ completely broke the Golden Gus.” _

“Ohhh, okay.” Aleks nods. “So you’re not pissed anymore that James broke the trophy, right?”

Jon brings his head back, visibly doing a double take at the question before he crosses his arms over his chest. “Who said I was pissed?” He asks. “You guys are Cow Chop, I was completely prepared for any and all fuckery you guys were planning,” he chuckles. “It was funny, I liked it.”

Now Aleks does a double take. It’s not as visible as Jon’s but the gears are slowly turning in his head as he compares Brett’s statement from last night to Jon’s right now. Why would Brett lie about something small like that? What could he and Jon have possibly been talking about that would require him to lie? Unless Jon’s lying… either way, somebody isn’t telling the truth but Aleks doesn’t care too much about the discrepancy to pursue it any further at the moment.

Although there is the matter of Jon spending the night with Brett but if Aleks asks, Brett will ask him about Geoff so that line of questioning will too, have to wait another day.

“Uh. Okay.” Aleks chuckles and holds up his hand. “I dunno why I thought that then.” He shakes his head and brings his hand up in the air towards Jon. “Sorry, bro. Good to see ya though.”

Jon high fives Aleks and gives him a peace sign. “Same. I’ll see ya and everybody else next time you’re in Austin.”

They go down the other ends of the halls and Aleks glances back at Jon before he disappears into the elevator, trying to find more clues but a quick scan of him yields no results so he finally shrugs it off before entering his hotel room to spot Brett in the kitchen chugging down some orange juice and his hair appears to be damp as well, newly washed.

 

“Mmm, what’s up?” Brett greets as he sets down the carton. “You’re back early.”

“Didn’t wanna overstay my welcome,” Aleks says as he places his bag on the kitchen counter.

“Ooh, what’cha got in here?” Brett asks as he peeks inside, giving an exaggerated frown when Aleks swats his hand away.

“Everything in there is for me, I’m hungry as fuck,” Aleks tells him before he walks off towards the direction of the bathroom. “Better not eat my stuff while I’m taking a piss.”

“Fine, whatever, you have my word. Prima donna.”

Aleks chuckles in acknowledgment before he steps inside the bathroom, turning on the lights. The bathroom is more humid and warm than usual and the mirror seems almost foggy as the steam settles neatly on the glass. The glass doors of the shower are the same way and the tiled walls have droplets of water sticking to their surface and the bottom of the tub appears to be wet.

He pokes his head out the door to see Brett pouring a glass of orange juice to set by his bag before he returns it to its home in the fridge. Narrowing his eyes in scrutinization, he looks back to the hotel room door before he retreats his head back in and he closes and locks the bathroom door behind him.

_ What the fuck is going on here? _

* * *

 

**April 20th, 2017**

 

“Alright, so everything you see on this sheet of paper are the instructions to my great great great grandmother’s famous recipe and it’s been passed down from generation to generation and they want us to keep it going forever, and ever…” He looks back and forth before looking to Brett again. “.. and ever. It’s been through so much shit, dude, so many wars, like, you don’t even know.”

Brett’s eyes widen as Aleks hands him the recipe instructions for Brett to scan through. Eggs are apart of it along with flour, the staple to any sort of recipe that involves baking, but as he keeps reading, he sees the use of chocolate chips and immediately his eyebrows narrow together in suspicion. “You said it was passed down from many generations?”

“Yeah.”

“Weren’t chocolate chips made in like, the early 1900’s?”

Aleks grins and lets out a laugh along with a nod. “Yeeeah, uh, I just got this shit from the internet,” he tells Brett as he hands him the sheet. “It’s real fucking basic though so if you’ve never baked anything before, it’s a good start.”

Now that Brett fully has the sheet, he can further read into the contents to find out that it’s… a chocolate chip cookie in a mug. This isn’t exactly what he had in mind when he told Aleks he wanted to learn how to bake but uh, baby steps? How hard can it be to make this though? It sounds like the basic recipe for chocolate chip cookies condensed into mug form, but he likes doing shit with Aleks so yeah, he’ll bake his easy-ass chocolate chip cookie. Why not?

He and Aleks grab all the necessary ingredients for the cookie - butter, white and brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, eggs, flour, and the most important one of all… chocolate chips. The chocolate chips have been previously used but were tied back shut, still perfectly good. Aleks thinks so too because he swipes them from Brett’s hands so he can untie the bag to grab a few for himself.

 

“Can you control your fucking sweet tooth for a few minutes?” Brett teases as he quickly takes his bag back, shaking his head in slight amusement.

“C’mon, treat yourself. You’re allowed to eat your own ingredients,” Aleks urges as he pops a chip into his mouth, nodding his head towards the recipe that’s now laying on the counter. “What does the first step say?”

“Melt the butter. Simple enough.”

“So do that,” Aleks says. A few seconds later, Aleks’ phone buzzes and he takes it out of his pocket, smiling when he sees who exactly is messaging him.

Brett looks back to Aleks right as he puts the butter in the microwave, scanning him up and down before he gives Aleks’ phone his attention. “Who’s got you in such a good mood?” He asks, but he already has a good feeling of who it is because Aleks and him have been texting a bunch since he left Austin - not constantly, but 75% of the time Aleks gets a text, it’s from this man.

“It’s just Geoff.” Aleks shrugs.

_ I fucking knew it. _

“Again? Geoff Ramsey?”

“You know any other Geoff’s?”

No, that’s exactly Brett’s point! Why is he getting so close to _Geoff Ramsey?_ What could they possibly… er, okay, they both have a similar sense of humor, both love tattoos, video games, breaking shit, etc. so it’s not a complete surprise but they’ve known each other for a little  over a year now. Why are they talking so much right now? The answer is simple - they’re _lovers._

Alright, they’re not lovers but they’re definitely touching tips. Or something close.

Brett snorts and looks back to the microwave timer. “Aleks, I’m not stupid and I know about your older guy fetish. What the hell is up with you and Geoff, dude?”

Without looking up from his phone, Aleks says, “I’ll tell you what’s up with me and Geoff if you tell me what’s up with you and the Risemonger.”

The microwave goes off and its alarm loudly reverberates through the kitchen but Brett’s ears fail to register the noise because his brain is focusing all of its power on Aleks’ words. Most of the time, Brett is quick on his feet to improvise and wriggle his way out of a situation but he’s entirely flabbergasted as to how Aleks even connected the dots to him and Jon Risinger.

Jon left his room around the same time Aleks came back from Geoff’s but Brett thought he cleaned up any evidence of their activities from the night before. He probably didn’t do so good in the morning but what was he supposed to do? Brett can’t make all that hot water in the bathroom fully condensate…

_ Brett latches onto Jon’s neck with a groan, sucking hard at the skin to leave another deep, red hickey before pulling off to admire his handiwork. The water cascades down Jon’s body and over the marks and Brett watches it bounce off Jon’s ass, deciding to spank Jon’s ass so he can see that bounce too. _

_ Jon moans in response and turns his head to grin back at Brett, darting out his tongue to lick the tip of it along his lips. “God, you’re really fucking feisty. I’m not surprised but it’s just… it’s nice.” _

_ “That’s what I’ve been told so far,” Brett says as he brings a hand up to stroke it back through Jon’s hair, moving his head forward to kiss right under his ear. “That I’m real feisty. But you and I aren’t so different when it comes to that.” _

_ Jon shakes his head and pushes his ass back on Brett, rolling his hips back and forth. “Want me to show you how feisty I can be again?” _

_ “You know what?” Brett steps back. “I wanna see how feisty that mouth is.” _

Jon gave him a killer blowjob and after drying off, he left the hotel room. As good as it was, however, Brett doesn’t think he’ll be seeing Jon again. He’s hot as hell and really knows how to work his hips but he’s very… quirky, like one of those “random” teenagers. It’s probably just Brett who thinks that but regardless, that and a few other traits of his turns Brett off. Next time he comes to Austin, he’ll just find a random hookup on Grindr.

 

Out of the corner of Brett’s vision, he sees Aleks taking out the mug from the microwave and he reaches into a drawer to take out a spoon. Brett swallows and crosses his arms over his chest, watching as Aleks stirs the melted butter. “So uh, what about Risinger?” He asks.

“What’s up with you and him?” Aleks asks again. “Measure out the sugars, you need a tablespoon each of those, and 3 drops of vanilla extract but really? Add as much as you fuckin’ want because that shit is lit.”

Brett opens the bags of sugar and then takes out the tablespoon from the drawer. “Why would something be up?” He argues. “He just came over the other night and uh… you know.” Brett shrugs and drops a tablespoon of white and brown sugar into the mug. “He was still feeling pretty annoyed about the Golden Gus being broken so I talked to him. And then he just crashed.”

“Okay.” Aleks nods.

That’s it? Wow, Brett thought he’d have to give more details to appease him! Crisis averted!

Brett smiles and nods back, picking up the extract. “Sweet. That’s all that happened so-”

“Except Jon said he was pretty chill about the whole thing so either you’re lying or he is.” Aleks gives Brett a pointed look and a bit of a smirk, tilting his head. “C’mon, dude, what’s said in this house stays in this house.”

Another reason he won’t be seeing Jon again! To Brett, it’s common sense that Jon should’ve just rolled with whatever he told Aleks but apparently, it slipped right over that pretty head of his and now Brett has to come up with a better excuse! It really isn’t a big deal if Aleks knows he’s fucking guys because hello, Aleks has been doing that a lot longer! And that’s exactly it - Aleks is into guys too.

They’re both hot guys. They’re both living together, in a small, cozy house. When two hot guys of compatible sexuality live together, _something_ is bound to go down but what if you’re the others boss? You can’t let it happen. It’ll complicate things, especially if you two are good friends and maybe if it was strictly sexual, it’d be somewhat doable but honestly, Brett doesn’t trust himself there.

He isn’t exactly sure how he feels about Aleks but he knows those feelings have escalated from a friendly level. Brett doesn’t know what sparked that change in thought, just knows that it’s been going on for a little more than a month and the feelings have strengthened since Aleks came to LA. It doesn’t matter when it started though - it can’t happen. It’s just better this way. There’s a lot less drama and complication if they stay friends.

So Aleks has an idea of what’s up. Brett can’t continue denying it but he can’t tell the whole truth either so the solution? Compromise on a half truth.

 

He sighs and looks down into the mug as he stirs everything together with the spoon, acutely aware of Aleks’ burning gaze. “You really wanna know what’s up?”

“Heeeeell yeah.”

“I was uh,” Brett shakes his head, “curious about what it was like to be with another guy. And Jon, you know, he’s pretty and he was there so we got around to doing stuff but we didn’t even do much.” He shrugs and hits the spoon against the side of the mug so the excess can drip back in. “We made out and showered together and that’s it. And now I can… I can definitely say I’m not into guys.”

_ Not him, anyways. _

Aleks blinks a few times and drops his gaze to the mug, worrying his teeth against his bottom lip. His fingers tap incessantly against the counter before he leans back off, reaching over to grab the recipe sheet and though his eyes scan left and right along it, he doesn’t seem too focused. “So uh, that’s the first guy you’ve ever been with?”

Brett purses his lips together and opens the carton of eggs to take one out. “Uh, yeah. First and only.”

Aleks nods and scratches the back of his head. “Cool. At least you know now.”

“Had to figure it out sometime, I guess.”

“Totally.”

“So, now that you know what’s up with me and Jon...” Brett smiles brightly and looks over to Aleks, “...what about you and Geoff?”

Enough about the literal curious case of Brett! What about the curious case of Aleks and Geoff? Brett already knows what’s up but he wants to hear it from Aleks’ own mouth.

“Fine, me and him are fucking,” Aleks confesses as he drops the sheet to the counter again. “It’s been like, I dunno, a year.”

“A _year?”_ Brett raises his eyebrows in surprise, right as he cracks the egg yolk into the mug. “You two? Fooling around for a year? How did that happen?”

“He came to Colorado to do a video with us, right? For Amazon Prime?” Aleks reminds him. “He wanted to know where to get drinks so I told him about a few bars and I took him to one and…” He shrugs and watches as Brett dumps the flour into the mug. “Rest is history.”

Oh fuck, Brett remembers now! He had flown into Colorado the day after and when he went into the house, Aleks was texting Geoff as much as he is right now - so it’s normal then, for them to do this after they… ? Fuck, they’ve been at this for a year, on and off? And Brett had no idea of it until a few days ago? Then again, he wasn’t paying an excruciating amount of attention to Aleks back then like he is now.

_ Lucky guy. BRETT, STOP. _

“S-So like, uh, do you like him or anything?” Brett clears his throat and reaches for the chocolate chips to sprinkle them into the mug. “You two got a lot in common.”

“I mean… yeah, we do.” Aleks smiles and looks up to the ceiling in contemplation. “He’s real chill. And he’s like, effortlessly funny and I’m real comfortable around him. And he always checks on me to make sure I’m okay when we’re done and he takes real good care of me.”

Brett likes Geoff. He’s not transparent at all, he’s completely open and tells it like it is but he doesn’t use that as an excuse to be rude. Geoff does his own thing and doesn’t care what anybody else says but if he ends up hurting somebody, he doesn’t hesitate to apologize - Brett respects the fuck out of that. Geoff is _real._ Aleks would do nicely with somebody like that.

 

“Sounds like perfect boyfriend material right there,” Brett tells him quietly as he stirs the spoon in the mug again.

“What we have is fine.” Aleks looks back down to Brett before he gazes out the window. “We don’t need to complicate things.”

“Trust me, I know what that’s like,” Brett mumbles. “But it could be worth exploring, you know? Just one date, see what happens.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell him to come down to LA for a weekend,” Aleks mentions, rubbing at his chin. “So we can chill. And do stuff.”

“I’d give you the days off for it,” Brett says. “If he ever comes down, just let me know when. I’ll let you and your tattooed sugar daddy do whatever.”

“Brett, please.” Aleks walks over to Brett and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You’re the only sugar daddy I need.”

_ Aleksandr, I hate you. And I like you, so much, but I really do hate you. _

“Can’t be that for you forever!” Brett pulls his shoulder away from Aleks’ grip but soon puts his mug in the microwave to act like it’s intentional. “Maybe Geoff’s gotta take my place.”

Not even maybe. He _should_  take Brett’s place. Brett’s supposed to be Aleks’ close friend and his boss, nothing more. But Geoff, he can be all of those things… and more. Aleks is real happy to talk about him too and he said it himself, he wants Geoff to come down to LA so they can spend time together. As a close friend of Aleks who wants him to be happy, Brett will aid him in his pursuit of love.

All Brett wants at the end of the day is for Aleks to be happy.

* * *

**April 24th, 2017**

 

Aleks looks over to James’ desk to see that James is still frantically searching for WWE 2K17, a very important prop for their video today because they can’t fucking play the game without it. He snorts when James accidentally knocks over his mug of pencils and lies down across the couch, returning to his text convo with Geoff:

 

**[Geoff]** He was just smoking weed openly downtown, not giving a single fuck.

**[Geoff]** Made me think of you.

**[Himself]** Haha, I’ve sort of been thinking about you too.

**[Geoff]** Yeah? What are you doing later tonight?

 

Hey now, they’re not even in the same state! What does Geoff have planned in that hot, older head of his?

 

**[Himself]** No plans I’m aware of. What about you?

**[Geoff]** Wanna webcam? Just because we’re apart, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun ;)

 

Aleks grins hugely and bites down on his lip, glancing over to James who still has not found any luck. Nobody in the office seems to really be paying attention to him. They’re all working on their computers, with the exception of Brett and Lindsey who are huddled close together to look at something on her phone but that’s on the other side of the warehouse so they won’t be able to see Aleks anyways. He doesn’t need Brett to continue prodding him about Geoff either.

He looks back down to his phone and quickly taps away:

 

**[Himself]** Fuck yeah, let’s do it.

 

He’s done that with his girlfriends in the past and it’s been exciting everytime! It’s sort of like going to the strip club but in the comfort of your own home and the stripper is somebody you care about very much, who knows exactly how to turn you on. In some cases, it’s better than going out - it depends on how Aleks is feeling but right now? He wants the virtual club. Hey, maybe _he_  can be the hot, personal stripper for once.

 

**[Geoff]** Can’t wait to see you.

**[Geoff]** Wish I could be there in person to do more but I’ll take what I can get.

 

_ Maybe he doesn’t have to wait too long. _

 

**[Himself]** You can always fly down here. Or I can fly down there.

**[Himself]** It can be like a weekend of just awesome fucking.

 

Just fucking. Nothing else. Why would they do anything else? Because Brett says they should? Not that it’s… a bad idea…

 

**[Geoff]** Hell yeah, I need to get away from Austin anyways!

**[Geoff]** Gotta check my schedule but we can set something up when May rolls around.

 

“Aleksandr!” James shouts as he holds up his game with a bright smile. “I found it! Get off your ass, we’re gonna fuckin’ co-pilot this shit!”

Aleks manages to send Geoff a quick confirmation text before telling him he has to film and then he sets his phone off to the end table. What perfect timing by James, as soon as they’re done going over the important details! Now Aleks just has to bide his time until May and then his sweet, tattooed sugar daddy will be down to walk the beaches of LA with him, the both of them engaging in the craziest sex until the sun sets over the ocean.

_ LA really is the land of opportunity. _

 

The game is put into the console and soon they’re filming the co-pilot video for WWE 2K17, the both of them determined to finally take down the meme king known as John Cena with a power that far surpasses the power that hustle, loyalty, and respect can ever bring to the table - the power of friendship. But first, they need to pick the best wrestler from the wrestler selection and there’s one wrestler in particular that Aleks has his eye on.

“I really like this guy,” Aleks says. “Stardust? Like, Ziggy Stardust?”

His character has a silver face with a black star smack dab in the middle and black lips, and a black and red spandex suit with red gloves that come together to make one big silver star. Stardust is… definitely fitting.

“He’s fired,” James tells him. “He’s not even active anymore. His husband still wrestles though.”

Aleks’ eyes widen and he looks over to James before he looks back to the screen. “Yo, whose dick is he sucking?!”

“Aleks, you can’t be so _vulgar,”_ James scolds. “They’re married, it’s more than just sex. They’re in love, they have formed a _union.”_

“Gross. Who is it?”

“Randy Orton.”

“The dude who does the RKO’s and shit?! Bro, no, you’re making shit up now, the few times I watched WWE, he was all over the chicks and he was dating that uh, real hot blonde. She had long ass legs.”

“I ain’t lying to you,” James says as he grabs his phone, tapping at the screen. “They’ve been together almost 4 years… see, look,” James turns his phone to Aleks to show him a picture of the happily married couple kissing at their wedding ceremony, “completely real, dude.”

“Okay, I’m curious,” Aleks admits. “You gotta tell me more about this romantic fairytale after we’re done.”

Because he has a hard time believing some super straight dude with a history of womanization can _suddenly_ marry a guy. Of course, Aleks thought Brett was straight and then he got with Jon fucking Risinger… but Brett just fucked him. Er, made out with him. He didn’t /marry/ him. Aleks gets why Brett wouldn’t tell him, because human sexuality is a big part of everybody’s lives and everybody deals with it in their own ways, but he still feels… it’s hard to say what he feels. He feels slighted somehow.

_ He can do better than Jon Risinger... _

About half an hour later and the duo makes their triumphant victory against John Cena with Kane, not the Kane without a mask who wears a suit and acts corporate, but the super cool Kane that reins from the depths of hell. They pat themselves on the back for a job well done and close out the video before Joe and Trevor turn off the cameras and head to the kitchen for a quick snack and as they do so, James makes do on his word by telling Aleks all about the curious case of Randy Orton and his apparent husband that he’s been with for 4 fucking years.

 

“So they were best friends?” Aleks asks.

“Yeah, for a long time. They just naturally fell for each other - couldn’t help falling in love, you know?”

“Can’t help falling in looooove wiiiiith youuuuu…” Aleks sings softly.

“Good song. But yeah, it’s pretty simple.” James shrugs. “He’s not into guys but he’s into Cody.”

“Cody?”

“Stardust - Cody’s his real name.”

Ah, right, wrestling’s fake. Aleks forgot. Actually, he acts like he forgot so James doesn’t kill him because  _ “wrestling is predetermined, you piece of fucking shit!” _ and then he gave Aleks an armdrag and it changed Aleks’ tune real quick.

“So… Cody turned him?”

James narrows his eyes at Aleks and smirks, raising one eyebrow as he rests a hand on top of the couch. “Somewhat. Why are you asking? You wanna turn Brett?”

_ NO. YOU’RE STUPID. _

“Dude!” Aleks darts his eyes around the warehouse for Brett and he sees Brett walking towards them but he ends up going into the bathroom. He has no clue what’s going on over here at all. Aleks  sighs through his nose and presses his lips together before he looks to James again, shaking his head. “And I’m not even into him anymore, dude, ship’s sailed like, years ago.”

If only there was a way to stop James from teasing him about Brett so much. If only there was a method to focus James attention elsewhere, like a facet of Aleks’ life that’s of equal or higher caliber, perhaps a different man… haha, oh wait! There is! And James already knows about him so Aleks isn’t going to have any trepidation telling him at all! James should know what he’s up to in his love life anyways, they’re best friends.

“Besides,” Aleks starts, “I’m into somebody else right now,” Aleks quirks a grin and waggles his eyebrows as he crosses his arms behind his head. “You know him.”

“Dude, holy shit, who?!” James asks in a hushed tone, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Geoffrey. Lazer. Ramsey.” Aleks nods slowly, like he just said the coolest fucking thing but James, however, doesn’t seem to share the sentiment.

James cocks his head and slowly licks along his lips, the fingers of his other hand slowly tapping back and forth against his knee. “You like Geoff?”

“Not gonna lie, I thought you’d be hyped as shit about that.”

“It’s just…” James rolls his lips back and looks to the ceiling as he tries to construct the words to properly voice how he feels without hurting any feelings. “I like Geoff, and I think it’s cool y’all are touching your tips and everything, but… you wanna like, date him?”

“... I don’t know.” Aleks shrugs and looks down to his lap. “But he’s cool, he’s funny, feel like it’s worth exploring. Asked him if he wanted to come by for a weekend and he’s down for it.”

Why does it sound like James is against it? What could be so bad about Geoff? Maybe dating a guy who recently got a divorce isn’t the best idea but Geoff’s always goes about his life the unusual way and so does Aleks! Plus, he’s been separated a few months before he and Aleks officially started fucking around so he’s probably looking to get back out there. There’s not a reason Aleks can think of for James to not support him 100%.

“What does Brett think?” James asks. “Does he know?”

“Yeah, I kinda told him about us.”  _ At least he supports me. _

Just as he says that, Brett walks out of the bathroom and turns his heel back to his office but James decides this is the perfect time to get his attention.

 

“Brett, get over here!” James calls out.

Aleks rolls his eyes and looks up to see Brett making his way over. James isn’t going to get very far calling Brett over but it should be interesting, at least.

“What’s goin’ on, boys?” Brett asks as he plops a seat between the two, looking back and forth.

“Aleksandr here is going to spend a weekend with Geoff Ramsey.” James raises his eyebrows at Brett. “What do you think about that?”

“Oh shit, really?” Brett smiles and looks over to Aleks, raising his hand. “You took my advice, up top!”

Aleks gives James a pointed look as he high fives Brett, scooting closer to him and wrapping an arm around Brett’s shoulder. “See, Brett’s on _my_ side.”

“You _want_  them to date?” James asks, his gaze never leaving Brett’s face.

“Yeah, why not?” Brett shrugs, looking back to James. “They got a lot in common. He’s basically an older version of Aleks. You don’t like Geoff?”

“I do!” James defends. “Like I said, he’s great, but… him and Gavin are kind of…” He makes vague motions with his hands that leave both Aleks and Brett puzzled, and they share the same look with each other.

“Kind of what?” Aleks asks, his squinted eyes moving from Brett to James.

“Close,” James finishes. “Real close. Like, more than friendly close, they got something going on.”

“Gavin has a girlfriend, idiot,” Brett says.

James snorts and shakes his head. “Don’t mean _shit.”_

“Gavin’s straight,” Aleks says.

That straight man has even said that he doesn’t want anything up his ass! He gets real weird around other people’s dicks so what would ever make James think that he and Geoff would possibly have a thing? They’re just best friends - that’s all they’ll ever be. Aleks is real fucking close to James, does that mean they’re secretly in love, destined to be together one day? This whole thing is silly! He’s silly for thinking that!

“Aleks, we just talked about this.” James puts his hands on his hips and stares at Aleks like Aleks just took a cookie from the cookie jar. “Randy Orton was straight and then he married his best friend. How do you know we ain’t gonna get another story like that again with those two?”

Brett rolls his eyes and brings his hand up to hold onto Aleks’. “You’re overthinking it, dude. They’ll be fine. I don’t think we know Geoff too well to make assumptions like that anyways and out of the three of us, I’d say Aleks knows him best.”

Aleks’ eyes dart over to the hand over his shoulder and the heat from Brett’s touch seeps through his skin and into his veins to slowly spread throughout that area. It’s funny, Aleks thinks, how Brett is so much bigger and stronger than he is yet their hands are about the same size. Brett’s hand doesn’t swallow Aleks’ at all, nor does Aleks to his - they rest perfectly on top of each other.

He swallows back the intrusive thoughts that are beginning to bubble up and he hears Brett’s voice rumbling in his ears but thankfully, Aleks has brought himself out of his trance just in time to register his words.

 

“Aleks, what do you want?” Brett asks, turning his head to stare into Aleks’ eyes. “Do you really wanna try things out with Geoff? You think he’s worth checking out? Forget about what me and James said, you do you.”

Brett’s eyes are dark brown and they remind Aleks of the cinnamon bun hot chocolates he’ll always get - they even hold the same kind of fuzzy warmth, in fact, the heat Aleks senses in his shoulders is equivalent to that and it leaves him with comfort. Brett has the faintest of grins on his faces but even the smallest shift in his countenance can leave a big impact on Aleks and despite the flurry of thoughts whirling in his mind, the comforting warmth puts him at ease.

Right now, Aleks feels like everything is going to be okay.

 

A smile slowly graces Aleks’ face and his eyes roam over Brett’s face in a circle before he gives a nod. “Yeah,” he answers softly, “he’s worth it.”


	6. Eclipse Of The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff treats Aleks like an equal, in and outside of the bedroom. Aleks is thinking (and hoping) that the same can be said for a relationship. Meanwhile, Brett is TOTALLY not jealous at all of them. He thinks they deserve each other... seriously! Brett thinks they're... well, they're just perfect together. So perfect. So damn perfect. Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahaha-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up - explicit sexual content this chapter!

**** **Rewind: May 5th, 2016**

 

Aleks blinks up from his phone and peers over at Geoff from the island counter he’s sat at, looking the older man up and down. The sleeves of his jacket have rolled up to expose the meticulously well done tattoos underneath and when Geoff clasps his hands together, the individual designs of his knuckles stand out to capture Aleks’ gaze for a few moments. His eyes trail back up his arms and then roam down the rest of his body, the perfect display of dad-bod.

Aleks typically doesn’t go for older men but Geoff exudes a chill, laid-back energy and Aleks finds himself mysteriously drawn to it. It’s like age really is just a number when it comes to Geoff because he fits in with Aleks and James so effortlessly, like he isn’t some 40 something year old man hanging out with 20 something year olds. Is that why Aleks wants to know more about him?

He quickly looks away when Geoff makes eye contact and pretends that he wasn’t trying to check him out. Geoff is none the wiser but James, however, catches Aleks at the last moment and walks over to intervene.

 

“Sup man?” James nods his head and grins knowingly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Just chillin’.” Aleks shrugs, swiping through his phone screen even though it’s completely black.

James presses his lips together and looks over to Geoff, now in conversation with Trevor. He moves his mouth by Aleks’ ear to whisper, “he’s got an open relationship.”

Aleks’ gaze slowly fixates itself on Geoff again, rolling his lips back in contemplation. He breathes in deeply before he looks back to his phone, actually turning it on. “What does that have to do with me?”

James shrugs and takes out his phone as well, taking a seat by Aleks. “Y’all are consenting adults lookin’ for some fun. You can figure it out.”

Aleks scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t wanna fuck every guy I see.”

“Man, shut up, I know that!” James gently whacks his phone against Aleks’ shoulder. “I’m your best fuckin’ friend, come on! I know what you want before you do and you’ve been fuckin’ giving him the eyes ever since he got here.” He raises his eyebrows pointedly at Aleks before he looks back down to his phone.

Aleks blows out a breath and rests his chin on top of his hand to look back to Geoff, scanning his body thoroughly again and thanking the stars above that Geoff seems too preoccupied in whatever the fuck is on Trevor’s computer to notice.

He knows he wants Geoff but honestly, he didn’t think he was being too obvious about it. So his glances on Geoff linger a bit more than he usually glances at others, why does it have to mean something? It does but… anyways, he’s not really expecting anything to happen, whether Geoff legit has an open relationship or not.

_Nobody says you have to date him._

 

Aleks nudges James shoulder to get his attention and looks over. “You really think there’s a chance there?”

“It’s not like you’re trying to marry him, you’re just having fun. When’s the last time you actually had some fun?”

Aleks raises his eyebrows briefly in acknowledgment. “Way too long. But uh, what should I-”

“Hey, Aleks!” Geoff says in a voice that commands the attention of everybody in the room.

Aleks’ eyes widen as he looks up to the source of the loud noise and his heart actually does a flip when he sees Geoff’s bright blue eyes and that even brighter smile. “Uh, hey… my dude.”

“You know any good bars in town?” Geoff asks as he wanders over to the counter, rubbing his hands together as he licks along his lips. “Trevor’s underage so ya know, he obviously doesn’t have any good recommendations… or maybe he does! I dunno, fake ID’s these days are probably a lot better then when I was your age.”

Aleks and James quickly glance over to each other and James sends Aleks an inkling of a smile as he pats his shoulder. “Aleksandr knows plenty of good bars, ain’t that right?” James offers before walking away.

“I…” Aleks looks back to watch James leave for a few seconds. Looks like he’s on his own for this one! Okay, this is fine. He can ask Geoff out. It’s just drinks, how hard can it be?

He slowly looks back to Geoff with a small smile and waves his hand before he sets his phone to the counter. “Well, we don’t need him to recommend anything. I got your back, Ramsey.”

“It’s why I’m asking you.” Geoff chuckles. “You really seem like you know your alcohol.”

_I know my dicks too._

“Were you wanting to go out tonight?” Aleks asks as his gaze dips down to Geoff’s lips.

“With you, yeah.” Geoff nods and slowly licks along his lips as he peers into Aleks’ eyes. “If you don’t mind.”

“Just us, or…”

“It’s up to you,” Geoff says, “but I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to some one on one time with you.”

Oh fuck, he’s talking about this like it’s a _date._ Except it’s not a date, it’s just drinks and guys get drinks with each other all the time! But not alone… or maybe they do? Maybe that’s what they did in Geoff’s time. Ugh, _Geoff’s time,_ Aleks thinks that like Geoff is fucking ancient.

 

Geoff steps around the counter and Aleks watches as Geoff makes it by his side, crossing his arms over the counter top to smile over at Aleks. “Would that be alright? Just you and me?”

“Y-Yeah, dude, for sure.” Aleks nods and rolls his lips back, his pupils darting all over the room to check for any wandering eyes their way but he and Geoff are the only ones in the kitchen. Trevor has just left to go back up the stairs and he isn’t sure where James is now but James seems to support them so he doesn’t have to hide anything in front of him. “You wanna get drinks or you wanna do more or like-”

“Define more.” Geoff narrows his eyes and runs his teeth along his bottom lip as he stares down at Aleks’ lips.

Aleks follows his eyesight and his breath hitches when he realizes where exactly Geoff is looking and he hopes he isn’t overthinking it but like… there’s definitely something brewing here, some sort of tension. It’s hot, it’s a bit stifling, and Aleks has to tug at the collar of his shirt to offset the rising temperature in his own body.

Allowing his own gaze to dip down to Geoff’s lips, he leans in to say, “whatever you want.”

* * *

 

**Returning To: May 5th, 2017**

 

Aleks hops out of Brett’s car and smiles over at Geoff, who’s smiling back at him and has just stood up from the bench. “Hey, lookin’ good!” Aleks calls out Geoff’s way. Geoff’s wearing his usual clothes, jeans and a graphic tee, but he still looks as hot as he always does. He really pulls off the rich rocker aesthetic.

“Could say the same for you!” Geoff looks Aleks up and down and runs his eyes along his exposed arms. “You should wear tanktops more often.”

“HEY!” Brett exclaims to get their attention, even honking the horn, which causes Aleks to jump back. “When I come get this one, he better be in one piece.”

“Don’t trust me?” Geoff teases as he walks over to Aleks, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to pull him to his side.

“Don’t trust _him,”_ Brett clarifies as he points to Aleks. “Keep a good eye on this one.”

Aleks huffs through his nose and rolls his eyes, giving a thumbs up. “I’ll be fine, daddy, thanks.”

Brett swallows and presses his lips together before he looks out the windshield, holding up a peace sign. “Deuces, boys and men!” And then he drives out of the hotel drop-off and pick up spot, back into the heart of LA to leave Aleks and Geoff alone with each other.

Pretty cool how Geoff found time so soon in May to spend with Aleks, huh? Aleks thought it’d take a bit longer because despite Geoff’s sabbatical, he’s still a busy man and he hasn’t even stopped showing up to work either - he’s just taking on a greatly reduced workload. Yet, he took time out just to spend a lovely weekend with Aleks… honestly, Aleks is flattered and just a bit smitten.

_What else would he do for me?_

 

Geoff wraps his other arm around Aleks’ waist and moves his head to kiss the corner of his lips before he pulls his arms away, grabbing one of Aleks’ hands. “Nice of Brett to drive you here but I could’ve sent you an Uber or something.”

“Brett wanted to,” Aleks tells him as he experimentally intertwines their fingers together. A small burst of warmth sends through him and he feels a smidge safer. “It was on his way to Lindsey’s anyways.”

“So how’s it been with him so far?” Geoff asks as he leads them into the hotel lobby. “It’s been uh, about a month, right?”

“Mmhm. I actually can’t find anything to complain about,” Aleks answers, looking up to the ceiling in retrospection. “He’s… kind of the perfect roommate.”

Brett and him are into the same video games, most of the same food, and despite working out, they have a similar routine so they mesh easily together. It’s the first time Aleks and him have actually began bonding now that they live in the same area and Aleks finds himself wishing he could’ve moved to LA sooner - he needs more friends like Brett, friends that support him and are willing to go out and get hammered.

Like next month, there’s the Splash House event party in Palm Springs and if that sort of thing were to happen in Colorado, Aleks wouldn’t have anybody to go with but he gets to go with Brett because that’s right up Brett’s alley, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and hitting up hot babes at the pools… hopefully getting lucky with one too.

Then he and James wouldn’t be close. So on second thought, maybe it’s all happening for a reason but Aleks just _wonders,_ you know?

“Is it like, a permanent thing or just temporary?” Geoff asks as they enter the elevator, pressing the button for his floor.

“Only until I find a place of my own,” Aleks explains. “I had a place picked out but a few weeks before we were supposed to move, they gave it away to somebody else and I couldn’t find a place in time so Brett kinda picked me up off my ass.”

Geoff smiles and looks Aleks up and down, taking a deep breath before he leans against the wall. “He really cares about you,” he muses aloud as he tugs Aleks closer by his hand. “Kind of sounds like me and Gavin.”

“I don’t think we’re as close as you two though,” Aleks chuckles and rests his other hand over Geoff’s chest. “You two are like, best friends for life. Me and him are just good friends.”

Their friendship can definitely grow into best friend level territory but Aleks doubts it’ll be anything like what he has with James, or what Geoff has with Gavin. You can have many best friends, absolutely, but there’s one that’ll surpass all the rest to be your platonic mate for life. No matter how many arguments there are, no matter the distance, nothing can break the bond between those type of friends.

 

Geoff doesn’t answer after that, only moves in for a kiss to Aleks’ lips before he wraps an arm around his waist to hold him close. A comfortable silence falls between them but the silence manifests itself into tension when they leave the elevator towards their hotel room. The tension grows more stifling the closer they get, the adrenaline steadily gains power, and by the time they make it inside Geoff’s hotel room, Geoff is already throwing Aleks to the bed and crashing his lips onto his.

Fuck, Aleks has missed this, the feeling of Geoff’s skillful lips on his. There’s never anything off about their kisses and Geoff knows exactly which one is right for the moment they’re in and right now, they’re desperate. Aleks moans into the older man’s mouth and clings onto the collar of his shirt while Geoff grabs the sides of Aleks’ sweatpants to hastily pull them down his legs along with his boxers. Aleks’ kicks them off and then wraps a leg around Geoff’s waist to pull him in and he smirks when Geoff groans against his lips before his tongue shoves inside.

They kiss for a minute or two more before Geoff pulls away to kneel on the ground, grabbing Aleks’ hips to pull him to the edge of the bed so he can mouth at his entrance. Aleks’ eyes flutter shut and a loud moan releases from his mouth as he brings his hands down to grab fistfuls of Geoff’s hair, holding on tight while Geoff reminds him of the many other skills his mouth possesses.

* * *

Brett finds himself in mass traffic on the way to Lindsey’s place but that’s to be expected in LA. He drives his car forward in the line before he puts it to a stop for the thousandth time, having to come to terms with the fact that he has to call Lindsey to tell her he’s gonna be a bit late. He probably would’ve been there by now if he hadn’t have offered to drop Aleks off at the hotel Geoff’s staying at but Aleks’ car is in the shop, right when he needs one to show Geoff around LA! Just his luck, right?

They’re not doing anything too important today. He’s just helping Lindsey look for a new place to move into… so it’s pretty important, but the places they’re looking at are all open houses so they don’t have a set appointment. Actually, they’re in LA, open houses should be the standard when everybody is late to everything all the time! What the fuck?

 

He calls Lindsey and the Bluetooth connects to his car for Lindsey’s voice to echo throughout the interior. “Hello?” Lindsey greets.

“Yo, Linds, it’s Brett. Gonna be late, I had to drop Aleks off at a hotel and there’s a lot of traffic but hey, it’s LA, what can you do, right?”

“I thought Aleks was staying with you?” Lindsey asks. “Why is he in a hotel?”

“Because that’s where Geoff Ramsey is staying and Aleks wants to show him around LA,” Brett answers as he looks into his front mirror, adjusting the hat on his head. “Pretty nice of him to do so.”

“I didn’t know Geoff was down here. Is he gonna do some videos with us, like another Amazon Prime or… ?”

Brett bites at his bottom lip and looks down from the mirror and out the windshield. From a business standpoint, it would make sense to have Geoff do at least one video with them but from a personal standpoint, from the standpoint of being Aleks’ friend, he’s not going to impose on them. This is _their_ weekend together and nobody should bother them… or know about them. But it’s Lindsey, who is she going to tell?

“He’s down here strictly for pleasure.” Brett tells her. “He came down to hang out with Aleks.”

Lindsey raises her eyebrows and grins. “Ooh, it’s like a date?”

“It _is_  a date,” Brett clarifies. “They’re spending the whole weekend together, just the two of them and nobody else…” He sighs and presses his lips together, resting his arm on top of the open windowsill and he rests his hand on top of his hand

He really is happy for the two of them. They’re cute together and Geoff’s a good guy so Brett has nothing to worry about but there’s still this weird weight he feels on top of him, specifically over his stomach. It’s not overpowering, it’s more of an underlying feeling to his genuine support for them but he notices it.

Brett huffs through his nose and drives forward again when the line picks up. “I’m real excited for them, you know? But I dunno, I feel weird about it.”

“You’re just worried about him,” Lindsey assures. “You want him to have a good time because he’s your friend - it’s sweet.” And then Lindsey chuckles and shrugs. “Or maybe, deep down, you’re into him, just don’t know it, and it’s the jealousy talking,” she teases.

Hey, Brett can be into Aleks and not be jealous that he’s with Geoff! He’s the one that’s pushing Aleks into Geoff’s tattooed arms in the first place so why would he be jealous? Brett knows Lindsey is only teasing him but does she have to hit somewhat close to home? And if he was jealous, he can’t do a damn thing about it because they work together and they’re friends. He’s going to move on, let Aleks find happiness in Geoff, and he’s going to be a happy camper! Rainbows are gonna shoot from his ass!!

Brett forces a snort out of his nose and shakes his head. “Lindsey, c’mon, blondes aren’t my thing. Especially if they’re my own employee.”

“I’d say you and Aleks are sort of the same level. Like, he and James co-created Cow Chop and then you’re on the other side, doing the producing and management. But I see what you’re saying.”

_Still not gonna fuck a coworker!_

“Well,” Lindsey sighs, “thanks for letting me know. Try to call me when you’re close.”

“Will do.”

They end the call and when Brett is brought back to reality, he realizes _I’m still in fucking traffic, motherfucker, god damnit,_  but he does have a new Snapchat notification so maybe that’ll break up the monotony of waiting. It’s even a new snap from Aleks and Brett adores his snaps so he happily slides the notification open.

He doesn’t really adore this snap though. It’s a picture of Geoff’s arm wrapped around Aleks’ exposed chest and Aleks is holding onto his arm with both hands. The dog filter is over Aleks’ face, as well as a random tattoo on Geoff’s arms, and Aleks appears to be laughing at something and the caption explains just what he’s laughing at:

 

_“It detected a face in one of his tattoos and I can’t stop laughing”_

 

Brett inhales a sharp breath and turns his phone over before he tosses it into the passenger seat and then he pinches the bridge of his nose. Aleks and Geoff are having fun… a lot of it, it seems. Brett’s so happy for them, really! He’s… why, he’s ecstatic. Elated. They deserve each other, truly. This is what Aleks needs in his life, a responsible yet cool, laid back older man with his interests to take care of and watch after him.

_Aleks and Geoff deserve each other. Aleks and Geoff deserve each other. Aleks and Geoff-_

* * *

 

“It’s actually done that a few times.” Geoff chuckles as he leans over to kiss Aleks’ temple. “My tattoos just really set off Snapchat for some reason.”

“I just thought it was funny as shit.” Aleks’ laughter dies down into a long sigh as he climbs up onto Geoff’s naked body, pressing his own down onto his and setting his phone off to the side. “So where were we?”

“Going for a round 2, I believe,” Geoff answers as he grabs at Aleks’ ass, giving a cheek a gentle smack before he jiggles it in his hand. “But what’s the plan if we get done?”

“If?” Aleks repeats, raising his eyebrows with a small grin. “You wanna go all day?”

“It’d be a good way to spend the day, yeah.” Geoff nods and licks along his lips as he traces a finger along the rim of Aleks’ hole. “But what do you think?”

Aleks holds onto Geoff’s shoulder with one hand and presses his face into his neck with a small moan. “I’d love for you to fuck me all day, daddy.”

Their fun has only just begun! Why end it so soon? They have an entire hotel room at their disposal so they should make use of every part - the counters, the tables, the shower, etc. besides, they have Saturday and Sunday to do non sexual things with each other. They can go at it all day today and reserve the actual weekend for all the family friendly activities! And some that aren’t so family friendly but not borderline pornographic either.

 

“Better loosen you up again then,” Geoff says lowly, sliding the finger into Aleks’ hole to move it around. “Let’s talk about what we can do though!” He says in a chipper tone. “You think of anything in particular?”

How does he do that? Talk to Aleks like the fucking alpha male that he is and suddenly shift back to his usual goofy self a few seconds later? Once the sex gets going for Aleks, he has a bit of a hard time acting how he is outside the bedroom. He likes to put himself in a certain mindset for his sexual activities with most people and Geoff isn’t an exception. Aleks wants to be as hot as he can, he wants to turn Geoff on, and he wants to ruin everybody else for him. But sure, he’ll try to act like a normal person with Geoff currently fingering him!

Aleks mouths a big, wet kiss against Geoff’s neck before he nips the spot. “I mean… I haven’t been in LA too long but Brett knows a few good places. He keeps hyping them up nonstop.”

“So we’ll be diving into the glamorous underbelly of LA together? Sounds pretty romantic to me.”

Aleks quirks a smile. “It kind of is. If you like romantic, we can go to Pacific Park. I’m supposed to go there Monday to shoot a video but it wouldn’t hurt to actually know what it’s like.”

“Like from GTA! Fuck yeah, let’s totally go there.”

They’re taking Trevor out to experience Pacific Park for himself, as a way to welcome him to the LA area! Well, just himself, Khail, Trevor, and Anna - it’d be cool if Brett could go because he always brings a certain life to these vacation videos of Trevor. He’s like the dad of the group and keeps everything under control but if it’s going too smooth, he won’t hesitate to partake in chaos.

Also, Brett bought Aleks a coffee last time they did these vacation videos so maybe he would’ve seen Aleks getting too hot and buy him an ice cream or something.

_Wonder what he and Lindsey are doing right now..._

 

Aleks’ smile grows a bit more and he moves his head to place a kiss by the corner of Geoff’s mouth. “Mmm, okay… and there’s this really good taco place called Diablo Taco. Bet it blows Torchy’s out of the water.”

“That’s debatable.” Geoff chuckles and inserts another finger alongside the one already inside Aleks to scissor him. “Then again, I’ve never been there so we’ll add that to the list too.”

So far so good! Geoff is readily taking all of Aleks’ suggestions and it looks like they’re in for a pretty radical weekend together! Aleks has never really had this romantic getaway sort of thing with a girlfriend or boyfriend before, just never found the time for it, and this isn’t exactly a getaway because he lives in LA but it’s close enough! He’s staying in a nice hotel with a hot, rich, older man, who flew out _just_  for him, and now they’re going to all these romantic places together? Sounds like a romantic getaway to Aleks!

Aleks moans as the fingers work his insides and he presses his face back into Geoff’s neck, digging his nails into his shoulder. “A-And then there’s uh… fuck, your fingers are distracting the fuck outta me right now, dude.”

“Okay, I’ll stop,” Geoff says as he slows his fingers down, smirking at the whine Aleks lets out.

“Nooo, I’m just saying!” Aleks complains as he wriggles his hips down onto Geoff’s fingers. “Don’t tease me like that.”

“So hot hearing you whine though,” Geoff says as his fingers start back up again - he even thrusts them in deeper. “Go on, what else is there?”

“There’s this dance club,” Aleks breathes, “it’s called Avalon. I’ve already b-been there with a few people already and-”

“Oooh, I can’t really go to those anymore.” Geoff hisses softly and looks down to Aleks, slowing his fingers down once more. “There’s a bunch of alcohol there and I’m not the best with temptation, as you can clearly see by what we’re doing right now. Plus, I’m old as fuck and I don’t think I’d fit in there.”

Oh. Right! Geoff can’t drink, why would he wanna go to a club, where alcohol can be found in abundance? Silly Aleks! He disagrees with Geoff not being able to fit in because he looks like a fucking rockstar but there’s no point in convincing him otherwise if he doesn’t even wanna go - sobriety or not.

Aleks holds himself up on Geoff’s body and looks down into his eyes, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. “Sorry, slipped my mind.”

“Nah, you’re good. When I was your age though, I was fuckin’ hitting up every club there was and when Gavin came to America, I was dragging him along with me.” Geoff chuckles and looks up to the ceiling in reflection. “I’m such a bad influence on him.”

_“Like I said, he’s great, but… him and Gavin are kind of…”_

_“Kind of what?”_

_“Close. Real close. Like, more than friendly close, they got something going on.”_

James’ words echo in Aleks’ mind but he quickly disregards it. So what if Geoff’s mentioned Gavin a few times today? Who doesn’t talk about their best friend? Besides, they spend a lot of time together and they’ve helped each other grow immensely as people so it makes sense for Geoff to bring him up. Gavin’s a very integral part of his life.

 

“Gavin’s fucking rich as fuck and successful, I’d say you did pretty good.” Aleks smiles down at Geoff and tilts his head as he gently rubs his thumb back and forth along his cheek. “So dance clubs are out. Is there anything _you_ wanna do?”

“Actually, yeah.” Geoff looks back down to Aleks and raises a hand up to rest over the one Aleks has on his cheek - the fingers in Aleks are forgotten about at the moment. “There’s this like, garden place I wanna check out. It’s called uhhh. Mildred something, I dunno, but it looks really nice. And?” He raises his eyebrows knowingly with a smile. “You can bring your dog.”

“So it’d be me, you, and Mishka, walking through the gardens and checking out flowers and shit?”

“Pretty much.”

“Ooh, _Geoffrey,”_ Aleks purrs and moves down to press his lips onto Geoff’s. “I didn’t know you could be such a romantic.”

He swears he feels Geoff tense underneath him but it’s only for a few seconds so Aleks doesn’t give it any further thought and Geoff actually seems pretty normal aside from that as he goes back to fingering Aleks.

“Gotta show you a good time, right?” Geoff murmurs against his mouth as he crooks his fingers inside Aleks, back and forth against the bundle of nerves. “Don’t need my fingers or my dick to do it either.”

“D-Doesn’t hurt…” Aleks stammers and shivers at the prostate stimulation, clenching tightly on Geoff’s fingers. “Alright, I-I think I’m loose enough, fuck me already.”

“Ooh, you’re so impatient. Tsk, tsk.” Geoff shakes his head and looks to Aleks with dark, narrowed eyes. “If you’re so eager for it, maybe you should do the honors?”

Aleks manages to sit up on Geoff’s body and rests one hand on his shoulder, the other moving back to grab Geoff’s hard cock. “You want me to fuck myself on you?”

“Eh.” Geoff shrugs and reaches over to grab another condom, ripping it out of the wrapper to put it over his cock. “It’d be pretty hot. I love seeing you work for it,” he says as he brings his fingers out of Aleks before crossing his arms behind his head. “Go on, give daddy a nice little show.”

“Alright, I’ll do all the work this time,” Aleks says, crying out loud in surprise at the sudden smack to his ass.

“Don’t mouth off at me,” Geoff warns, shaking his head.

“You fucking love it and you know it.”

Geoff looks off to the side before he slowly looks up to the ceiling, pursing his lips together in brief thought before he shrugs and relents with a nod. “True. But seriously, I want a show.”

Aleks has no problems doing that for Geoff. If Geoff wants Aleks to fuck himself on his cock like those pornstars except better, then Aleks will happily do so. In fact, riding Geoff is his favorite position whenever they meet up because Geoff always looks at Aleks like he’s the hottest thing in the world and he doesn’t just lie there either - he _does stuff._ He’ll grab at Aleks and play with his nipples, or drag his nails along his skin, or utter some super hot dirty talk, but he doesn’t just let Aleks do all the work.

It’s equal with the both of them… maybe the same can be said for a relationship?

 

“I’ll give you a show, daddy.” Aleks looks back to line Geoff’s cock up with his entrance and then he swiftly sinks down all the way with a quiet moan, rolling his hips around in a small circle to fully take in the sensation of being filled again. He breathes in slowly and rests his hands over Geoff’s chest, splaying his fingers along his tattoos as he rises himself on and off Geoff’s cock with constant moans.

“That’s right, baby, you ride that cock,” Geoff tells him as he brings his hands forward to rest on his thighs, splaying his fingers out as well and digging his nails into the pale skin. “Ride it so fuckin’ good too.”

“Bet nobody’s ever rode you as good as me, right, daddy?” Aleks asks, darting his tongue out along his lips as he peers down into Geoff’s eyes. “Go on, tell me.”

“Nobody’s ever rode me as good as you, baby boy.” Geoff shakes his head. “Fuck, you’re a goddamn natural.”

Aleks proves Geoff right as he quickens the speed of his hips and the change in pace causes them both to moan their approval as a shot of pleasure moves through. Aleks hisses through gritted teeth as Geoff drags his nails up to his hips to grab them hard, guiding Aleks along for the both of their sake. For Aleks, he doesn’t have to do as much work with Geoff helping to move him and for Geoff, he can sort of steer Aleks towards the path that’ll give the both of them the most bang for their buck - literally!

 

Geoff knows all the buttons to press to light up the fire in Aleks’ body. His nails know where to drag, his hips know just the perfect speed and force, and his mouth knows the perfect words to say. Even though he’s lying down, he’s not just lying there for Aleks to fuck himself on. He’s an active participant and it turns Aleks on that much more, knowing Geoff is as determined as he is to make them both come, which is actually a pretty hard thing to find from men in Aleks’ experience.

Those men fuck solely for themselves but Geoff fucks for the both of them, specifically Aleks. He cares about getting Aleks off, doing whatever Aleks wants, and he really seems to make Aleks his first priority so if he does that when they have sex, Aleks can’t wait to see if he shares the sentiment in an actual relationship.

Pft, James is fretting over _nothing._


	7. Hidden Protocol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Geoff have a very fun date with each other and they seem like they'd be quite a cute couple! Other people are taking notice as well and after filming the 1st episode of the CCTV podcast, Aleks gets a (not so good) feeling that it's A LOT of other people.

**** Brett walks out to the balcony of the mostly empty apartment with Lindsey and crosses his arms over the polished black railing as he looks out into the radiant city of LA. He turns his head to the side, gaze averting towards the pool area. He watches a heavily tattooed man do a cannonball into the water before he rises to the surface and stalks towards a beautiful, slender blonde, who laughs as she wraps his arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.

“It’s gorgeous here, isn’t it?” Lindsey asks with a bright smile as she surveys the city.

“I guess,” Brett mumbles, squinting his eyes at the disgustingly sweet couple.

“You guess?!” Lindsey scoffs and leans back off the railing to cross her arms over her chest. “Where else can you get a view like this and an apartment like _that?_ Pretty good price for it all too.”

“Wouldn’t commit just yet.” Brett shrugs and looks back out into the city, pulling out his vibrating phone to check the message flashing across his screen:

 

**[Aleks]** Me and Geoff are going to Pacific Park tomorrow, any ideas on what we can do?

 

He thins his lips and takes a deep breath, repeatedly tapping his thumb against his screen as he remembers all there is to do. It’s a loaded question Aleks has asked because there’s actually plenty that he can do at an amusement park but he’s probably looking for the most entertaining activities to do with Geoff so they can have a great date.

A date. With each other. Because they’re trying to be a thing.

_ You’re the one that persuaded Aleks into this. _

 

**[Himself]** The ice cream is nice. Most of the fun stuff is at the pier though, the ferris wheel is there and they got a nice aquarium too.

**[Himself]** Not a big fan of the games but I mean, if you want Geoff to be your knight in shining armor and win something for you… that’s a pretty good bet.

 

“I don’t care what you say, I like this place.” Lindsey clasps her hands together and hums rather proudly to herself.

“Then why did you drag me along?”

“Because you’re my best friend and I value your opinion when it fits mine.”

Brett quirks a grin and snorts, looking back down to his phone when it vibrates again. “At least you’re honest.”

 

**[Aleks]** Could you call it nice cream?

**[Himself]** I’m calling Toby Fox to have him sue you.

 

He hates Aleks’ puns and by “hates”, he actually means “loves”, but that’s his dirty secret, much like his growing crush that he can’t do anything about. God, why the fuck does he feel like that for Aleks anyways?

… so Aleks is like, incredibly funny and chill. Aleks’ comedic timing is impeccable and Brett doesn’t find it a coincidence that their funniest videos (to him, anyways) star Aleks front and center. Aleks’ humor comes to him naturally and effortlessly which sort of ties into his approach on most things in life - that’s where his laid back side comes in and it’s partly why Brett feels so damn comfortable around him.

He’s also honest and direct, at least he is with Brett. Aleks never beats around the bush with Brett, never hesitates to tell him what’s on his mind. If Brett has a bad idea, Aleks will tell him so (in very nice terms) and Brett might get slightly offended at first but then he’ll think about it and realize  _ “oh shit, Aleks is right!”. _ Other times, Brett will come up with a good idea and Aleks will openly praise it and those are probably the highlights of his day.

And of course, Aleks is super hot and pretty… okay, Brett knows exactly why he likes Aleks but he doesn’t know if that makes this crush easier or harder to manage.

 

“I really do appreciate your input,” Lindsey says. “But my heart is already set on this place. Think I’m gonna apply tonight.”

“It’s not a bad place.” Brett shakes his head as he shoves his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and then he crosses his arms back on top of the railing.

“You just said I shouldn’t commit.”

“Did I?”

Lindsey nods and Brett furrows his eyebrows before he turns his head to look out into the city. “Weird. Didn’t mean to say that then.” _  Probably thinking about something else.  _ “You should get the place if you really want it and I’d support you - like you said, it’s nice and it’s got a pool, it’s got a great work-out facility, and you’re around some pretty cool clubs.”

“Speaking of clubs, when are we gonna go back out to one?” Lindsey asks as she slides open the doors to step inside the apartment. “We can find hot guys together. Or I can just be your wingwoman and help you find girls but I don’t even think you need my help at all with that.”

“And you don’t need my help finding hot guys.” Brett turns around to wink at Lindsey and walks into the apartment with her. “You’re right though, it would be nice.”

Both he and Lindsey have been busy lately, with Lindsey hunting for new apartments and Brett helping Aleks get acclimated to the glitz and glamour of LA. A night out to the club would do some good for the both of them and it serves as a nice distraction as well.

“You free tomorrow night?”

Brett bares his gritted teeth and hunches his shoulders up, holding up his hands. “Kind of have a date with a guy that night, sorry.”

Lindsey presses her lips together and then puts her hands on her hips as she judgmentally scans Brett’s body. “A date or a hookup?”

Brett rolls his lips back and swiftly turns on his heel to make his way towards the bedroom door. “Might just be a hookup?”

Hookups are also nice distractions! Score a nice twink on Grindr, blow their upstairs and  downstairs minds, cook them a nice breakfast in the morning, and send them back out into the world! Brett is, surprisingly, not a hookup kind of guy but he’s somewhat new to being with a man (even if he is a natural at the sexual aspect to it) so he’s still trying to figure out how this whole thing works. He doesn’t even know if he’s into men (besides Aleks) like that so…

“You should actually go out on a date with one,” Lindsey tells him. “Like, a date that doesn’t involve naked bodies afterwards.”

“Listen, I’m not opposed to being with another guy,” Brett argues as he turns to face Lindsey. “But I’m new to all this still. Let me have my fun for now, you know? Figure out what I want and then… it’ll all just come naturally after that.” He shrugs and leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I can’t imagine being with a guy would be much different than with a girl.” Lindsey shrugs and sits on top the bed.

“I doubt it either but-”

“And you’re a guy. So you already know what a guy wants. It actually sounds more simple… hey, why don’t you talk to Aleks about it?” Lindsey beams and smiles over at Brett. “Tell him that you’re pretty sure you’re into guys and ask him what the differences are.”

It wouldn’t be a bad idea if he didn’t harbor some feelings for Aleks. Aleks could tell him all that he needs to know and provide some much needed insight but the thing is, Brett _does_  harbor some feelings for Aleks, feelings that he can’t act on so anything that could even slightly bring them together in a romantic or sexual manner shouldn’t see the light of day.

Doesn’t stop him from flirting with Aleks but that’s a thing he was doing long before his crush on him. What kind of close friends don’t flirt with each other?

 

Brett scoffs and leans back off the wall, opening the bedroom door. “That’s probably the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

“How?!” Lindsey exclaims. “In what world-”

“So you said you were going to apply online, right?” Brett asks as he steps out of the bedroom.

Lindsey huffs and pokes her tongue around the inside of her cheek before she rolls her eyes and stands up from the bed. “Yeah. I’m getting this place.”

All of this house hunting reminds Brett that Aleks’ stay with him is only temporary and soon, Aleks is going to be living in a place of his own. It’s sort of bittersweet because while he immensely appreciates Aleks’ company and how much his presence has brightened up his home, his feelings for Aleks have definitely exacerbated since Aleks moved in. Hopefully when Aleks moves out, they’ll dip down to a much more manageable level of pure sexual attraction and not attraction in all its forms.

Aleks seems pretty damn happy with Geoff anyways. Brett doesn’t wanna get in the way of that.

* * *

 

**May 6th, 2017**

 

Pacific Park is bustling with people on this sunny Saturday afternoon. The bright yellow sun stands out among the vibrant blue skies as well as the calming blue of the ocean. Aleks and Geoff aren’t frolicking on the beach today but it’s definitely in the agenda for tomorrow. Today, however, they’re spending the day on the pier to frequent all of the attractions and games it has to offer.

Even if they fail at all the games, the real prize is being with each other, isn’t it?

 

Geoff grits his teeth together and bares them before he chuckles, watching as the ball hits the rim of the cup and bounces off to the ground. “Yeah uh, I think I’m too old to properly do these games,” he says he turns to Aleks, gaze immediately dipping down to the ice cream smeared along his lips

Aleks circles his tongue around the vanilla scoop and then swipes it up the middle before he swallows down the cream. There’s a smidge more at the corner of his lips and so he wipes it off with his thumb, briefly sucking the tip clean. He holds out the cone for Geoff to take and looks up into his dark eyes, squinting his own beneath his raybans.

“Hey.” Aleks waves the cone back and forth, “It’s your turn.”

“You can’t just do that.” Geoff chuckles and shakes his head as he takes the cone from Aleks to get a taste.

“Do what?”

“Suck that like you do my dick.”

“How the fuck else am I supposed to eat it? It’s your mind’s fault for being stuck in the gutter all the time.”

Geoff mouths at the top of the cold treat and licks the excess off his lips with no fanfare as he shrugs. “When I’m with a ridiculously hot guy like you, you can’t really blame me.”

Aleks quirks a grin and averts his eyes the other way, bringing his hand down to swiftly grab Geoff’s free hand to intertwine their fingers together. “Guess I can’t,” he mumbles.

So far, he and Geoff have had a pretty successful day at Pacific Park (as long as you exclude the games). They’re in the process of finding one last thing to do before they head off to the aquarium and afterwards they’ll retire to their hotel room, specifically in the warmth of each other’s arms. Though the LA heat is definitely plenty… shit, is Trevor going to be able to survive for their video? He’s gonna be hotter than the sun with all the clothes he’s gotta wear!

Still, nothing compares to the always comfortable heat that is being in the arms of somebody you like and Aleks is starting to like Geoff more and more with each second they spend together. There’s not really a bad thing about him and he seems… sort of perfect? Besides the fact that they can’t go out to bars together but hey, that’s okay! They shouldn’t do everything together!

 

Geoff hands the cone back to Aleks and watches as his tongue darts out along the treat, watching on with a hint of fondness etched in his features. He breathes in deeply through his nose and squeezes Aleks’ hand before he looks in front of them once more. “It’s been a real good day with you - can’t believe we have one more whole day to spend together.”

“So this weekend is everything you’ve hoped for so far?”

“Pretty much.” Geoff grins. “You’ve been a lovely host and… woah!” His grin widens when he glances over to the side to find a photo booth and he nudges Aleks’ shoulder. “People your age still do these things, right?”

Aleks looks to Geoff and follows his eyesight as he mouths at the top of the treat, not being able to resist a chuckle at his slight ignorance. “Yeah, we do photo booths. We’re just as sentimental as people your age. Why, you wanna go in there?”

It’d be a great way to capture the spirit of their trip here! Anytime they wanna revisit this moment in their shared history, they can just look at the pictures taken with each other and sit back and bask in all the memories, like their go around on the ferris wheel, their ride on the coaster, or their stolen kisses behind the various attractions that nobody ever goes to. Aleks is actually a big fan of photo booths.

“Yeah.” Geoff nods. “You mind?”

“Not at-”

“Hey, Geoff Ramsey?! From Achievement Hunter?”

The quickness of Geoff breaking apart their hand holding makes Aleks heart drop but only by a minuscule amount. He’s definitely disappointed but he understands and he would’ve done the same thing if he were quicker than Geoff. Aleks doesn’t really wanna explain what’s going on in his own love life to the fans anyways because it’s none of their business and he prefers to keep that private.

Geoff is completely positive and energetic as he talks to the fan and Aleks keeps to himself in the background as he continues licking at his ice cream, frowning when he realizes it’s almost gone. The way his face is tilted, the raybans stare directly down at the treat but his eyes are steadily watching Geoff’s interaction with the fan. When Aleks comes across a fan in public, he’ll make one or two comments before going his own way and hoping that’s the end of it. No offense, their fans are great! But some are just… overzealous, and it doesn’t help that Aleks always tends to run into the weirder ones.

The fan takes a selfie with Geoff and they share a handshake before the fan goes on her way… or so Aleks thinks.

“Wait.” The fan furrows her eyebrows and turns around to look at Aleks. “You’re Aleks from Cow Chop, aren’t you? Are you and Geoff secretly filming right now and I got in the way?”

“Uh… yeah.” Aleks nods. “I mean, you’re not in the way. Yeah, that’s why we’re here together.” He chuckles nervously and goes to rub the back of his head but he realizes that’s the hand he’s using to hold the cone and with a blush, he quickly brings the other hand back instead. “Just filming.”

“Wow, I can’t even see the cameras!” She laughs and waves her hand. “Well it’s nice to see you too! I’m looking forward to that video!”

“Yeah, me too,” Geoff says as he grins over to Aleks, looking him up and down. “It’s uh, gonna be a real good one.”

The fan finally leaves after that for Aleks and Geoff to be alone once more, as alone as they can be with each other considering they’re in a huge crowd but that’s typical of Saturday afternoons. For kids, there’s no school and for the majority of adults, they have the weekend off so they’re all congregating at the beautiful Pacific Park to celebrate their free time, much like Aleks and Geoff are.

 

As Aleks hands Geoff the cone, Geoff stares at him quizzically before he takes a few licks. “A video, huh?” He asks as they continue through the pier.

“Thought it was a good excuse.”

“Nah, you’re right. She’s just gonna be real confused when that video never comes out.”

“She’ll just think we scrapped it.” Aleks shrugs and walks with Geoff, briefly pausing in his tracks when he senses a camera flash behind him but he figures he’s imagining things and he continues back down. Geoff doesn’t comment on it either and it’s all forgotten about.

_ Probably somebody taking pictures of the pier. _

“Now how about that photo booth, huh?” Geoff walks backwards to face Aleks and smiles as he looks into his eyes, holding out his hand. “We’ll take some pictures, make a cute scrapbook, go to the aquarium, then call it a day.”

The corners of Aleks’ lips turn up high and it brightens more to show his teeth when Geoff offers him the cone. He takes it and swipes a few licks at the treat before he licks his lips clean. “You really know how to give a guy a good time. Wanna finish this off?” Aleks asks as his other hand grabs onto Geoff’s outstretched one.

“You or that cone?”

Aleks raises a suggestive eyebrow as he hands Geoff the cone back, watching as he devours the rest. “Cone first, me later.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Geoff tosses the cone into the nearby trash before he steps through the curtains into the photo booth. Aleks lets out a loud laughter of surprise as Geoff suddenly pulls him in, raybans falling off onto the chair in the booth, and the laugh is soon silenced by Geoff’s lips. They taste of pure vanilla and right now, it’s the best taste in the world and Aleks can’t get enough of it as he greedily reciprocates the kiss.

For two people who are just now getting around to dating each other, they’re become smitten pretty damn quick. Ah yes, just another perfect day in the world of Aleks and Geoff. Nothing else to see here.

* * *

 

**May 15th, 2017**

 

It’s a cloudy Monday afternoon in LA today and it’s also the perfect weather for the first ever episode of the official Cow Chop podcast. Okay, it’s actually a little below average weather but at least it’s not raining like it was earlier!

After paddling into the open lake and setting up the cameras, they decide to start off the podcast by tiptoeing along a very thin tightrope as they try to avoid offending people.  In hindsight, everybody should’ve prepared topics of discussion beforehand but that’s so _boring_ and Aleks and James aren’t opposed to using improv to steer some of their content along. It’s especially important for a podcast where everybody is acting as themselves instead of the slightly exaggerated characters they put on for their videos and it allows for natural conversation.

 

“Wait, why am I in the scenario?!” James demands. “I’m the one getting warned!”

“Because love can strike anywhere,” Brett reasons. “Because of the warning, you thought you’d be safe but then you fell in love anyway… god, this is such a trap.”

“What’s a trap?” Aleks asks.

“This conversation,” Brett answers with a chuckle.

Aleks couldn’t agree more but he sure does love to see James get flustered as he tries to avoid hard hitting topics. They should definitely switch to a more appropriate topic of discussion soon though, something more light-hearted and not one that can possibly offend people. The conversation somehow derails a bit more after that and Aleks tunes himself out until he believes it’s resolved itself.

He reaches into the backpack for his phone to play around in the meanwhile and smiles at the notification on screen:

 

**[Geoff]** Hey, I’m really missing you.

**[Geoff]** Think I need to make another trip to LA in a few weeks, haha.

 

His and Geoff’s… thing, whatever it is, has grown tenfold since their weekend together. Aleks wouldn’t say they’re dating now and he wouldn’t even say they’re exclusive either but there’s definitely some shared romantic feelings. Aleks is fine with taking it slow though because when they do decide to take that final leap and make it official, it’ll mean so much more! And if things don’t work out before that, then it won’t hurt so much.

 

**[Himself]** Wouldn’t mind having you come down again.

**[Himself]** Really want a repeat of that first night ;)

**[Himself]** BTW, I’m hanging with Asher and Trevor tonight, might not be able to reply.

 

After sending the message, he exits to be brought to his home screen - it’s of him and Geoff in front of the sharks at the aquarium and a blue light casts over the both of them, Geoff kissing Aleks’ cheek. It’s sort of risky to have this as his wallpaper but who else knows Aleks’ passcode?

“Trevor, no, we’re talking about social traps,” Brett clarifies. “Life traps, like uh, you know, love is a trap.”

“Trevor, who the fuck are you trying to offend on our podcast?” Aleks asks as he stows the phone into his backpack before looking to the offender.

“Nobody!” Trevor argues pitifully. “I promise-”

“Hey guys, listen.” Brett claps his hands together.“Let’s just agree that you can’t help falling in love with whoever you fall in love with. At the end of the day, you just gotta follow your heart. Anymore questions or can we finally shift gears into a conversation we’re smart enough to discuss without getting into trouble?”

“Or you follow your dick,” Aleks adds.

“That too,” Brett affirms with a nod.

Aleks’ heart isn’t too hard to follow because it knows exactly what it wants and at the moment, it’s Geoff Ramsey. His heart wants somebody similar, somebody older, somebody cool, and Geoff is all those things! Who else can fit that criteria so perfectly?

“Actually, I have a question for Aleks,” Trevor offers. “How’ve you been adjusting to LA? What’s Brett like as a roommate?”

“There is absolutely no pressure,” Brett adds helpfully as he clasps his hands on top of his knee, smiling innocently over at Aleks and batting at eyelashes. “Speak your mind.”

“Now _that’s_  a trap,” James mumbles to Trevor.

“I mean, I’m with James on people in LA being more selfish and having no concept of personal space but like, it’s cool apart from that.” Aleks shrugs. “It’s weird being in the heat all the time but a good weird, you know? I like it, I like it here.”

Aleks still misses Colorado but he’s only been in LA for a little more than a month so it’s gonna be awhile until the homesickness goes away but LA has been lovely to him so far. Aleks isn’t like other people who buy into the delusional grandeur LA is often painted with, that they’ll move to LA and suddenly all their dreams will come true - he just wants to switch it up.

 

“And what about lil ol’ me?” Brett bats his eyelashes again.

“Are you fishing for compliments?”

“Do you have compliments to feed me?”

_ Way too many.  _

Brett is seriously the best roommate Aleks has ever had. He keeps the house tidy, he knows the perfect settings for the laundry, he can cook a good ass meal, he grooms his yards, cleans the sheets, keeps Aleks’ pets well fed, doesn’t play obnoxiously loud music… and that’s just the beginning of the list. He needs to condense it, otherwise Trevor and James will think he’s metaphorically sucking Brett’s dick and he doesn’t wanna be teased about a crush on Brett again, ughhh, they just got over that!

“You’ve actually been a super awesome roommate,” Aleks confirms as he directs his attention towards Brett. “Even before I moved in, you were. Like, you seriously went out of your way to fly to Colorado to help me pack my shit up and drive to LA with me and you don’t ask for anything in return.”

Not even money from Aleks either! He’s still letting Aleks stay with him free of charge, not that Aleks took him up on that - he’s helping out just as much with the bills. He’d feel like a huge burden otherwise.

“Not asking for anything in return _yet,”_ Trevor points out.

“Yeah, I dunno if I told you this or not, but there’s a secret basement in my house. We’re gonna be making pretty good use of it soon,” Brett says. “How flexible are you?”

Aleks’ heart skips a beat and races for a few moments before it recovers to its original rhythm but for those moments, Aleks stays silent. But he opens his mouth to tell Brett that hey, he can be as flexible as Brett _wants_  him to be (how long he stays like that is a different story), but Trevor speaks before he has the chance.

“You said no memeing!” Trevor reminds him. “That was totally a meme!”

“Now you’ve ruined the joke, which is _different_  than a meme, might I add,” Brett corrects.

“Hey guys,” James interjects, “don’t mean to interrupt the 50 Shades stuff that y’all are doing but like, Aleks and Brett make a good pair.” He nods his approval. “You guys always work well together… look nice together.”

He and Brett _would_  look nice together… but Aleks isn’t going to entertain that thought because he’s pretty damn content with Geoff and  _ why the fuck is James starting this shit up again? _

Brett snorts and rests a hand over his cheek, looking down to his feet. “Us? Together? Yeah, that’d be a good way to recreate a certain something from our past.”

Now hold on just a moment there, does Brett _really_  think they wouldn’t be able to act normal in the office with each other if they dated?

“Woah, I don’t know about that,” Aleks quickly argues. “You’re pretty professional unlike others we knew.”

Jordan and Stef were pretty damn obvious in their affections with each other. It might not have been apparent (a lot) on camera but behind the scenes, everybody and their mom knew that they had something going on and it was sort of offensive how they tried to act like everything was normal. Brett, however, is a better boss than Jordan will ever be and one of those reasons is not because he cares about his job but because he cares about who he works with.

Which isn’t to say Jordan didn’t care either but he just couldn’t figure out how to balance operating a workplace and working among friends. Brett knows the perfect mix and Aleks can’t recall there ever being a time where he strongly disagreed with Brett’s plans. Brett knows exactly what he’s doing and Aleks trusts him so if Brett were to, hypothetically, date somebody in the office, it’d be fine. He’d handle the situation perfectly.

 

“Does it even matter?” Brett shrugs. “You’re with  _ you know who _ anyways and I’m pretty sure that’s gonna last.”

“Who’s you know who?” Trevor asks. His eyes quickly squint and he looks down in thought, lips moving as he very quietly talks to himself before he gasps and looks up to Aleks with widened eyes of realization. “HEY, is it-”

“It’s just some fucking dude from Grindr, he finally found that big, strong man he’s been looking for.” Brett sits up more in his seat and squints his eyes at Joe and Asher in the other boat that’s drifting away. “Can you guys get closer or do we gotta come to you? Let’s just meet halfway and compromise.”

The rest of the podcast continues as smoothly as it can considering the people that are on it but it’s definitely a podcast one would expect from Cow Chop. Aleks might call it a trainwreck on the outside but internally, he’s proud about the way it went. It’s a strong pilot episode - he just hopes the rest of them will continue to follow suit. It’d suck to start a new venture and have it quickly burn down but as history has shown, Aleks and James are doing quite alright in that department.

_ Hope the next episode will be just as good. _

Everybody has about 15 minutes to paddle to shore which gives them a few minutes of breathing room to enjoy some of the lake or head back early. James and Trevor head back early but Aleks and Brett elect to stay and enjoy the sights. The sun is returning from its hiding place and casts the entire lake in a warm, bright light, and the fountain gushes high as if to celebrate the return.

 

Aleks’ eyes follow the fountain upwards and he squints at the sun, pupils moving downward as he shades his eyes with his hand. “Thanks for saving me at the end.”

“The internet will find out about you two and go crazy.” Brett kicks his feet up and takes his phone out from his jacket pocket. “I’d tell Trevor about it though, he won’t tell anyone.”

“I am, but not on a podcast where thousands of people will hear.”

“I figured as much.” Brett chuckles. “Good first episode though, went better than I thought. What are your plans now?”

“Going to Asher and Trevor’s, we’re gonna play some games, maybe uh...” Aleks puts his index finger and thumb together by his mouth and audibly inhales air before he drops the hand, “...blaze it up.”

“Trevor was such a good boy until Cow Chop came along.” Brett sighs and looks off to the fountain, shaking his head. “Now we’ve corrupted him.”

“He was corrupted before us. He’s just not ashamed to hide it anymore.”

“So we brought the worst out of him is what you’re saying?” Brett asks as he turns on the camera to his phone, raising it up in the air to get him and Aleks in the frame. “Hey, take some pics with me.”

Aleks looks over to notice the camera and holds up a peace sign. “I’ve already accepted that I’m a bad person. You know, anybody looking at us right now is gonna think we’re on a date.”

Brett swallows and breathes in before he puts on a smile, holding up a peace sign of his own. “Better not let Geoff know then.”

“You posting this to Twitter?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we’re shit out of luck there.”

“It’ll be fine, it’s not like I’m kissing you. I’m taking it on 3, okay? 1, 2…”

And after Brett posts the picture to Twitter, they paddle back to shore. There’s a comforting silence that falls between them and the comfort is aided by the calming sounds of the water and the cute chirping of the birds. Aleks hops onto Brett’s twitter to see their picture and his mind flashes back to the picture of Geoff and Gavin he found on Geoff’s end table.

_ “Looks like some shit out of a romance movie.” _

 

Both pictures have the rushing water as a huge part of the beautiful scenery and though he and Brett aren’t touching each other, there’s still a romantic vibe. The replies he sees underneath seem to agree with him, egregiously enough, but there’s one more thing all of the replies share - the mention of Aleks’ taste for older men.

_ “Aleks loves his older men, doesn’t he?” _

_ “really admire how great aleks looks with all these older dudes tbh but won’t geoff be jealous??” _

_ “so like, are you aleks’ new sugar daddy now or… ?” _

 

It can’t be this one picture that’s making everybody say that so why do all these people seem to know so much more about Aleks’ slight kink for older men now And… Geoff? What’s going on?

Aleks shrugs and shoves his phone into the backpack. Must be one of those new fandom jokes, like Aleks being a twink or James and his fat stacks. He doubts it’s something to be concerned about.


	8. Electrifying Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks finally cracks the literal curious case of Brett and on the 2nd CCTV podcast, Aleks and James are pressured to kiss each other. Brett doesn’t see the big deal - until he’s the one pressured to kiss Aleks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

Brett has a date with another guy tonight. Sort of.

His date is about the same height and he has a slender, sun-kissed body. He has spiky brown hair, deep green eyes, and a slight baby face. His actual profile wasn’t anything to write home about but he’s not exactly coming over for intellectual conversation so that’s fine with Brett. One day, he’ll take Lindsey’s advice and actually go out on a proper date with a guy but he’s content to just keep having fun.

As he waits for his date to arrive, he decides to catch up on some e-mails and fan replies on Twitter. Maybe he could even check… haha, that’d be like walking into a minefield. Brett never has a good idea of what he’ll find on Tumblr, just knows that it probably isn’t good.

He purses his lips and looks down to the side of his chair to see Mishka wagging her tail at him. She stands up to rest her paws on Brett’s leg and gently claws at it for more of his attention.

Even though Aleks is out right now, Brett can’t feel lonely in this house because Mishka and Celia keep him great company. They don’t make a mess at all and are rather respectful. All they require is full bowls and some pets every now and then and Brett is happy to give them all the pets they need.

Brett strokes his hand back through Mishka’s fur and ruffles it and he isn’t able to resist a smile at how goddamn cute she looks. “You are definitely the best part about Aleks coming over here,” Brett tells her, scratching at the back of her neck before he takes his hands away. “Lemme go through the cesspool of Tumblr and I’ll let you out back, okay?”

Mishka hops down from the chair and walks over to the couch, hopping atop and making a comfortable nest within the blankets before settling down. Celia is on the other end of the couch and she barely gives Mishka a passing glance before she stretches out. Now that Brett is totally free, he sets out on entering the wonderful world of Tumblr dot com to venture through the Cow Chop tag.

He’s not prepared at all to find endless reposts of a picture starring Aleks and Geoff together.

That’s not a big deal at all but what makes it so is the fact that the pic is taken of them from behind and clearly shows them holding hands. It’s not totally obvious it’s them but then you look at their arms and all the unique tattoos they have and it’s not like it can be anyone else.

 

Brett keeps scrolling down the tag to look for more information, a caption or something, and one post (with over 700 notes) has the caption:

_ “so i was on instagram and my favorite photographer posted this and it looks so much like aleks and geoff, holy shit??? they even have the tattoos fdsdfghg i swear im not being a crazy shipper or anything” _

Uh, surely one of those notes has more to say about it? Maybe somebody who can shed light on the situation? Perhaps somebody else who was there and saw them and can confirm or deny? Because if this really is Aleks and Geoff, Brett needs to tell Aleks as soon as he can but if it’s not, then it’s not really noteworthy.

So Brett dives into the comments of the post (they’re at least better than the YouTube ones) and there’s one comment that stands out in particular. Brett clicks through that to the person’s blog to see what else has been written:

_ “can def confirm it was them, i took a selfie with geoff and noticed aleks afterwards:” _

After that line of text, there’s a picture of that girl smiling with Geoff and Aleks is in the background with his ray bans on, licking at his ice cream. They’re both wearing the same outfits as they are in that viral picture too. Continuing to scroll down, there’s more text explaining the encounter:

_ “now that im thinking back to it, they were holding hands before i walked up. When i noticed aleks, i asked if i was interrupting a video between him and geoff and he sort of stuttered while he told me they were secretly filming and i haven’t heard anything about this video since so like, maybe they were trying to keep it a secret?? idk” _

Brett sighs and presses his lips together.

_ So much for keeping it a secret. _

 

After saving both of the pictures to his computer, he opens Twitter and heads into his and Aleks’ messages to send the incriminating pictures over.

It’s not even bad if this gets out, Brett thinks, but he knows that Aleks is going to be stressed having to answer questions about his personal life that he tries hard to keep, you know,  _personal._  The least he can do is give Aleks a head start into figuring out how to deal with all the commotion that will arise.

 

_ “So you and Geoff just got outed on Tumblr. Message me back ASAP.” _

 

It’s not a shitstorm but this is probably something that needs to be addressed, even in passing. If it was Aleks with any random guy, then nothing would be said about it. Everybody already knows that Aleks likes dudes, but because it’s Geoff, one of the founders of Rooster Teeth and somebody they sometimes work with, it’s going to get a lot of attention.

Shit, what if Brett was in his place? If, by some miracle, he and Aleks started dating? The comments and posts about them would be endless and sure, Brett can easily cast that aside at some point but he’d be lying if he said that wouldn’t stress him out even a tiny bit.

He’d have to make sure he isn’t acting biased towards Aleks or that he isn’t being overly affectionate on camera with him. Once Brett gets in a relationship, he can be kind of a touchy feely person that loves to shower their partner in affection but he can’t do that if they work together. Thankfully, it’s not something he has to concern himself with because they’ll never ever date! Brett’s feelings aren’t strong enough to warrant acting on in the first place, or so he thinks.

_ It’ll go away on its own one day. Hopefully soon. _

As soon as he sends it, the door to his home rings and Brett’s head snaps over to the door. His date arrived just in time! He hopes Aleks messages him before they do anything, otherwise it’s gonna be a looong while before Brett replies back

 

Brett closes his laptop and stands up from the chair before making his way over to the door to allow his date inside. Gotta do that before he’s  _ inside  _ his date, after all.

This whole situation could be worse though. It’s not like Aleks got caught shoving singles down a stripper’s fishnet stockings.

* * *

 

It’s around 9 PM and Aleks has been at Asher and Trevor’s for some time. He’ll leave a few more hours from now, after he gets a good high and completely crushes everybody in Mario Party. Believe it or not, he has mad Mario Party skills, yo.

Asher sets the bag of weed and papers onto the coffee table and plops a seat beside Aleks on the couch, picking up his controller. “Oh cool, still my turn. Nice to see we’re all still civil in this war game.”

“Not really anything to get mad at when we’re still on the second turn,” Trevor says as he spreads out his sheet. “Yo, Aleks, remember what we were talking about on the podcast?”

“Yeah, remember how you offended everyone?” Aleks fires back as he looks to Trevor, watching while he sets the weed in a nice line.

Trevor chuckles and shakes his head. “I told you, I didn’t mean to. But I’m talking about  _ you know who -  _ you know, the dude Brett was talking about? Brett said he was just some guy you met on Grindr but I don’t believe it.”

Aleks breathes in deeply and slowly moves his thumb over the A on his controller to begin his turn. “Yeah, uh… it’s uh, somebody we know. But it’s not really something we can talk about in public.”

“I figured,” Trevor says. “It’s Geoff, isn’t it?”

“Ooh hey, that makes sense,” Asher says as he gets onto the ground, kneeling by the table so he can roll his own blunt. “You two are a lot alike.”

How did they figure that out? Aleks thought he and Geoff were being real subtle about it! They don’t really interact on Twitter or any other social media and Aleks has been mentioning him more at the office but he talks about Geoff as if he were anybody else. It doesn’t matter though. They know now and Aleks trusts them. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“It’s him,” Aleks confirms. “We’re sort of a thing. Like, it’s super recent. Just don’t wanna make it public, you know how people talk.”

“Uh huh, for sure.” Trevor nods and sets down his blunt onto the tray to begin his turn but then his phone starts vibrating and he picks that up instead. He opens his notifications and widens his eyes at the picture that spreads across his screen, whistling lowly. “Hey um, are you sure you don’t wanna make it public?”

“Yeah.” Aleks takes a drag of his blunt and leans back against the couch. “Why?”

“Somebody replied to one of my tweets with this picture,” Trevor says as he turns his phone to Aleks and Asher turns his head to get a look as well.

Aleks looks to Trevor’s phone and his eyes widen when he sees the picture of him and Geoff holding hands. His blunt drops onto his thigh and Aleks hastily picks it up to set it on the tray instead, leaving his hands free to swipe the phone from Trevor’s hands so he can get a better look at the picture up close.

There’s no mistaking it - it’s definitely them. Their clothes, their bodies, their hair… it couldn’t be anybody else.

 

His tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek and his thumb taps back and forth against the side of the phone before he hands it back to Trevor. Reaching inside the pocket of his jeans for his own phone, Aleks wonders aloud, “how come nobody fucking messaged me about this and I had to fucking find it out from you?”

“Maybe they just assumed you already saw it,” Asher says. “I would have.”

But his words fall on deaf ears. Aleks is focused now on wondering how the  _fuck_  this happened and who the  _fuck_  took that picture.

He presses the button on his phone to wake it up but it remains a blank screen… oh, god damnit! Aleks forgot that he turned his phone off as soon as he came into the apartment! It’s been off this whole time! Maybe somebody messaged him during that time and that’s why Aleks didn’t see it!

When Aleks holds down the button to officially turn his phone on, messages from Brett and James flash across his screen and the both of them are asking Aleks about the picture but Brett is the one who actually wants a message back… except this was an hour and a half ago.

Aleks’ shoulders slump and he rests his head against his closed fist, frowning down at his phone. Suddenly, Aleks is no longer in the mood to play games or even talk to his friends.

_ People are gonna annoy me about this sooo much. _

“Hey, Aleks, if you wanna like come by another night, you can,” Asher offers. “Sort this out first, you know?”

“Probably be a good idea,” Aleks mumbles as he stands up from the couch. “Dude, sorry, I didn’t-”

“Rain check, bro.” Trevor takes a drag and kicks his feet up on the table. “It’s cool.”

Aleks presses his lips together and sends the both of them an apologetic smile. “Thanks. Seriously, I’ll let you guys know when I’m free.”

Trevor and Asher send Aleks their best wishes and reassure him as much as they can before Aleks hightails it out of the apartment, phone in his pocket, so he can hop into his car to drive back home. He needs time by himself to think about this and what exactly he should address it.

 

What if they ask how he and Geoff started talking like this? When they decided to do this? What if they ask more invasive questions, like… well, some fan out there definitely has an invasive question and won’t have the social awareness to keep it to themselves. Thankfully, Brett is good for dealing with situations like these. He always knows the best words to say so he’s the first person Aleks will ask.

As always, Brett continues to shine as that beacon of hope and Aleks is in dire need of it right now.

* * *

 

Aleks slows the car down when he sees his and Brett’s home enter his vision but there’s somebody else’s car in the driveway blocking his spot! What the fuck? Looks like he has to wait for Brett’s friend to leave before he can talk to him. He was looking forward to talking to Brett but it’s fine, Aleks can just sulk by himself in his room. Or call Geoff while he sulks in his room. Geoff is more experienced when it comes to situations like these than he is anyways so he’s probably more calm about it.

_ He and Brett are actually kind of alike that way... _

He settles for parking his car in front of their home and he gets out to walk the sidewalk and up the stone path to the front door. Aleks reaches in his pocket for the keys so he can open the door and his eyebrows furrow when he hears a curse from an unfamiliar voice along with a thud.

_ What the FUCK is happening here? _

When the door is fully open, Aleks gathers what’s happening real quick. Much like that picture of him and Geoff, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it all out.

 

“A-Aleks, hey uh, I thought you were gonna be at Asher and Trevor’s like, pretty much the whole night?” Brett asks as he crosses his arms over his shirtless chest, the zipper on his jeans completely undone along with an open flap.

The other man stands up from the wooden floor, blushing profusely as he pulls up his sweatpants. “Hey uh, listen, I’m gonna go. Uh, I’ll message you though and we can…”

Brett nods his head and gives the man a thumbs up, his eyes staying on Aleks. “Cool, for sure.”

Yes, Aleks knows exactly what’s going on. Brett plays for two teams. He salutes two flags. He hitchhikes  _and_  takes the bus.

Brett Hundley, Aleks’ former crush, Aleks’ current close friend and somewhat of his boss, likes men… does he?

Isn’t Brett straight? He didn’t like being with a guy when he experimented with Risinger so… what’s this incident then? Whatever this is, it’s a good distraction from all the Geoff thoughts swirling in Aleks’ mind. The best way to forget about your own social life? Fixate on somebody else’s! He won’t rest until he figures out what the hell is going on with Brett and other guys!

The other man pulls on his shirt and Aleks looks over to him once he’s fully dressed, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Sup? Didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”

“S’fine.” The man shrugs and looks up to Aleks, furrowing his eyebrows together and grinning as he points a finger up at him. “Hey uh, you’re dating Geoff Ramsey, aren’t you? I saw the pictures, I thought it was really-”

“Hey, Sam, you should go. I’ll message you, okay?” Brett tells him as he puts his hands on Sam’s shoulders to help guide him out the door.

_ Brett seriously needs higher standards. _

 

After pushing Sam out the door, Brett locks the door and turns to Aleks with a bright smile. “Hey bud! So uh, it’s funny he mentions Geoff because-”

“I thought you weren’t into guys?” Aleks asks as he walks over to the couch, crouching down to sit until he remembers what exactly happened in here.

“You can sit, the uh… the couch is clean.”

With a nod, Aleks sits down. “You’re avoiding my question.”

Brett breathes in deeply as he walks over to the arm of the couch, sitting atop it and crossing his arms behind his head as he leans it back against the wall. One leg rests itself on the arm while the other stays on the ground to properly hold himself up. He stares off at the wall in front to run the words over in his mind, of how to best answer Aleks’ hard hitting question, and Aleks says nothing as he lets Brett organize all the whirling thoughts in his mind.

Aleks knows what it’s like to be confronted about your sexuality. He also knows what it’s like to tell people about it…

_ “Uh hey, Brett?” Aleks asks, licking along his lips. “Can I talk to you real quick?” _

_ Brett turns his head to look at Aleks and when he sees the uncharacteristically worried expression on his face, he furrows his eyebrows and proceeds to look him up and down. His fingers are twiddling against each other and Brett watches as one hand moves up to run back through his long, dark brown hair before he fixes his bangs. “You okay, bud?” _

_ “Y-Yeah, totally. Um, I just…” Aleks presses his lips together and looks past Brett to see if his coworkers are paying attention (and they aren’t) before he gives Brett his attention. “Can we go somewhere private?” _

_ “Of course.” Brett nods and wraps an arm around Aleks’ shoulders to lead him into the empty, soundproof conference room of the Machinima offices. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you have some deep, dark secret.” Brett chuckles and looks back to Aleks and when Aleks looks away, he starts to piece together that this is exactly what Aleks is about to tell him. “Oh… you know I don’t judge, right?” _

_ “It’s still a pretty big deal though,” Aleks says as he walks away from Brett to sit on top of the desk, “what I’m about to tell you. I don’t even think you’d be weird about it because you said you’re cool about that kind of thing but-” _

_ “Weird about what?” _

_ “You know how like… people make gay jokes about me and shit?” _

_ “That’s just part of internet culture, Aleks,” Brett tells him as he goes to stand in front. _

_ “I know but like… I guess they’re not really jokes if they’re true.” _

_ Brett blinks a few times and crosses his arms over his chest, tilting his head. He raises his eyebrows and slightly widens his eyes, giving Aleks the invitation to continue. _

_ Aleks gazes into Brett’s eyes for a few moments before he tears his own away to look down at his hands, now clasped in his lap. “Dude, I’m fucking bi.” _

_ “I know.” _

_ Aleks snaps his head up to squint his eyes at Brett. “You do?” _

_ “I have a sixth sense about these kinds of things. I knew since the moment I met you, dude.” _

Leave it to Brett to realize that Aleks is bisexual before even Aleks knew. Aleks finds it fitting how Brett knew that about him because Brett also happened to be the person to indirectly make Aleks realize he was into men. Aleks was able to tell Brett quickly because he had a lot of time to come to terms with it himself but since when did Brett begin experimenting with guys? How long has he had to get used to the idea?

 

“Remember Jon Risinger?” Brett asks after what seems like hours of silence.

“You told me all you guys did was make out and shower together,” Aleks recounts. “But uh, guessing there was more?”

“A lot more.” Brett sighs. “I’ve um… I’ve been doing this for a few months? Maybe since January this year, I dunno exactly.”

Aleks had a lot more than a few months to mull over his own sexuality. Imagine you’ve just now come to terms with it, or just realized it, and somebody just happens to involuntarily find out? How are you supposed to tell them that? But Brett seems to be doing pretty fine so far, if anything, he just didn’t seem prepared to tell Aleks tonight.

Come to think of it, it’s probably why he didn’t tell Aleks everything that happened between him and Jon when Aleks confronted him with it.

“What made you realize you might be into guys?” Aleks asks.

Brett rolls his lips back and averts his eyes the other direction, scratching at the back of his neck. “It was uh… um… you tell me, uh, when did you realize you might be into guys?”

Aleks pupils rake over Brett’s half naked form, his big biceps and his beautiful pecs, that hairy chest of his and that happy trail leading to… well, where else would it lead? Jesus, he’s fucking attractive. Is he seriously asking Aleks that question? He has  _no idea_  that somebody as hot as him could possibly be that closet key for somebody trying to figure out their sexuality?

Not that he can tell Brett that, for obvious reasons.

Aleks tears his gaze away at the exact second Brett looks over to him and shrugs. “I just saw some really buff guy one day and my mind like… did its thing.” Aleks chuckles. “Not much of a big story there like you were expecting.”

“No, it’s cool.” Brett shakes his head. “Makes me feel better, uh… that’s uh, exactly what happened to me.” Brett forces a chuckle and looks up at the ceiling. “Yeeeah, I just saw a real cute guy and thought, woah, when the fuck did guys get so attractive? And I couldn’t stop thinking about taking him back and just-”

“Think I get what you mean,” Aleks interrupts before Brett can share one of his sexual fantasies,  _ not that it’d be the worst thing in the world. _

“I don’t even know if I’m into guys like I am with girls though. They’re hot and everything but I don’t feel this urge to date one, you know? I’m not against it but I go on Grindr or Tinder and none of them really stand out.”

“So it’s just been hookups?”

“Pretty much.”

“What’s your type?”

“Opposite to yours,” Brett answers. “I like the pretty boys. Slender guys with sort of delicate figures, real nice faces.”

“... you said I was pretty before,” Aleks points out as he squints his eyes curiously at Brett. “You uh,” he chuckles and scratches at the back of his neck, “you tryin’ to get with me?” He jokes… sort of.

Brett chokes on his own saliva and holds his hand gently to his throat before he pats at his chest. He coughs a few times as he hops off the couch arm, shaking his head. “No, of course not,” Brett replies. “Don’t worry about that, I’m not gonna throw myself at you or suck your face anytime soon.”

_ Why not? Wait, what the fuck? _

Did he seriously just think that? About Brett? His roommate? His close friend? His coworker? His  _boss?_

As Aleks watches Brett and that tan, built, exposed body of his walk into the kitchen, he realizes that yes, he did just think that about Brett - but it’s just one of those intrusive thoughts. Or like, Aleks read online how the first thought is involuntary but the second thought is what you REALLY think so… what does Aleks really think, if the first thought doesn’t matter?

Brett reaches up to grab shot glasses from the cabinets to set them on the counter before he takes a bottle of whiskey from the rack. He pours the whiskey into the shot glasses and from Aleks’ line of sight, it hides his chest so Aleks stands up from the couch to walk over and he feels some contentment when Brett’s chest is no longer shielded from his view.

_ Why is Brett so fucking hot, dude? _

“So uh, didn’t mean to lie to you before,” Brett says as he hands Aleks his shot glass, raising his own. “I just wasn’t ready to fully talk about it.”

“It’s cool, dude,” Aleks assures as he raises his own to clink their glasses together. “That’s like, a big part of your life. Especially if it’s recent so like, I get wanting to stay secretive.”

“I knew you’d understand.” Brett smiles at Aleks before he downs the shot and he hisses afterwards. “Ooh boy, that stuff is hard.”

“As hard as you were for that guy earlier,” Aleks mumbles around the rim of his glass, scrunching his face when the burn immediately tinges his throat.

“It got the job done, if you know what I’m saying.” Brett sticks out his tongue and cackles maniacally as he pours another shot for him and Aleks. “I’m surprisingly doing super well with guys.”

Oh… is he now? So uh, what does he mean by that exactly? Is he like, good at picking up guys? Talking to guys? Or… fucking guys?

Just as Aleks is about to ask is the time his phone rings and when he pulls it out from his pocket, he sees that it’s Geoff - the other older man in his life, the one he’s actually trying to date.

Aleks sort of wishes he waited a few more minutes but he too, attributes that to an intrusive thought.

 

“Here comes your man!” Brett announces. “Want me to give you two some privacy?”

“It’s cool, I’m just gonna uh... head to my room for a bit. I’ll be back down though.”

“Sweet, we’ll get drunk afterwards. Hope you guys have a good talk, hope everything is alright, all that good stuff.”

Doesn’t sound like a bad way to end a night and after what happened today in regards to him and Geoff, that’s exactly what Aleks needs. Just him, some alcohol, and that everlasting beacon of hope in his life that goes by the name of Brett Hundley.

With Brett by his side, Aleks knows that everything is going to be alright.

* * *

**May 22nd, 2017**

 

The location of the second episode of CCTV is set somewhere completely different from last week. It’s not a gorgeous lake but rather a garish, monochromatic junk yard that reeks of metal and oil. This is definitely not the place you’d take a first date to in order to impress them, nor would you think about sharing a first kiss with somebody here but somehow, the ending of the podcast is battling heavily over that as Brett and Steven Suptic clamor for Aleks and James to kiss.

“Seriously guys, just kiss so we can end the podcast,” Brett requests. “A little smooch.”

Why the fuck are they taking so long to do it? He can’t believe he’s about to think it but he really wants to see Aleks and James kiss! It’d be great for the channel and garner the attention of many fans, such as all of those NovaHD shippers and hey, more power to them. As long as they’re not coming up to any of the guys and shoving their ship in their faces, what’s the harm?

_ How come people don’t ship me and Aleks? _

 

“It’s kinda weird we never kissed before, right?” James asks. “Our first one should probably be big.”

“How big?” Aleks wonders.

“I mean, at least a little bit of tongue.”

Er, okay, they don’t have to go THAT far with it. All Brett is asking for is a smooch. A smooch will put Aleks and James perfectly on level with his and Steven’s ball sweat handshake and yes, it’s just as gross as it sounds.

“Wait!” James announces as he holds up his hands. “Is that gonna be cool with your boyfriend?”

“We got an open thing going on, it’s cool.” Aleks shrugs and stands up from his chair, wiping his hands on his black sweatpants. “He’s not gonna give a shit.”

“Wait, who’s the lucky guy?” Steven asks, but his eyes widen under his glasses and he then claps his hands and answers his own question with, “oh yeah, it’s Geoff, right? Completely forgot about what happened last week.”

Aleks presses his lips together and looks over into the camera lens before averting his attention to Steven. “Yeah, it’s him, but we don’t wanna put our business out there. It’s still new too, super fucking new, so-”

“Cool, okay, we established that Aleks and Geoff are now dating. Can you kiss James so we can end the podcast and go home? I’m getting hungry.” Brett crosses his arms behind his head and looks back and forth between the two halves of the most popular ship in the Cow Chop fandom. “Chop chop!”

“Would’ve been funnier if you said cow chop chop,” Trevor mumbles behind the camera.

It’s been a week since everybody found out about the true nature of Aleks’ and Geoff’s relationship and they’ve been pretty chill about it but Aleks still wants to keep the relationship talk to a minimal level. Brett understands perfectly and as his boss, his job is going to be diverting any discussion about them so they can continue with the actual task at hand. Isn’t he the best boss ever?

 

James breathes in deeply and looks Aleks up and down before he shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest while he remains seated in the chair. “Even if you guys are open, I think I’m gonna back out. Not gonna get in the way of some true romance.”

“Awww, I was kinda looking forward to it.” Steven frowns and clasps his hands on top of his knee, that leg crossed over the other. “Would’ve been cute.”

“Guys, it’s a  _kiss,_  why is everybody suddenly so shy?” Brett laughs in disbelief and stands up from the chair, spreading out his arms. “It’s simple, just grab him by the shoulders and press your lips together!”

And then James says five words, five simple words but it completely erases all of the thoughts in Brett’s mind to replace them with ones that were hiding deep in the recesses; “fine. You do it then.”

Brett and Aleks both look to each other and freeze in their spots, the same two words echoing in both of their minds -  _ should we? _

And after that, six more words echo in Brett’s mind -  _ this is such a bad idea. _

It would be so bad to kiss Aleks, not because it would be bad to  _kiss him,_  god no.Brett bets it would be real fucking nice, placing his lips over the soft looking plush pink ones that Aleks has but he’s gonna kiss him once and life will never be the same. How is he supposed to kiss anybody else after that? Aleks is going to ruin everybody else for him. Brett knows it. He should come up with an excuse and back out, after all, he already did his thing with Steven.

However… it would be great content. Who doesn’t love to see some cute boys kissing? Yeah, it’s just for content. Brett can separate his own feelings and put them aside for the well being of the channel. He’s a professional, after all, and it wouldn’t be the first time.

 

“Me and Brett?” Aleks asks with a nervous chuckle. “He’s like my dad.”

“Guess he’s more like your daddy now,” Steven says, biting down on his lips to stifle his chuckle but it doesn’t help at all when James laughs maniacally and even slaps on his knee.

Brett drums his hands against his thighs as he walks the few steps to Aleks to stand right in front of him, blowing out a breath. “It’s just one kiss,” Brett tells him. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Although the last time Brett told himself that with Aleks, he realized he had a crush on him a few minutes later so his track record isn’t too great here… but he’s in too deep to back out now. Either they’re gonna kiss or they don’t.

_ I really wanna kiss him. _

Aleks swallows and his gaze dips down to Brett’s lips. He slowly licks along his own and breathes in deeply as he blinks his eyes upwards into Brett’s, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “So uh, how big should it be?”

Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose and cracks an inkling of a smile with a shrug. “We’ll see,” he mumbles loud enough for Aleks to hear, resting a hand on top his shoulder. “Just c’mere. Follow my lead.”

Aleks nods and tilts his head while Brett tilts his the other way. They continue gazing into each other’s eyes and the same amount of nerves thrums through the both of their veins as they become increasingly aware of what’s about to happen.

They’re about to kiss.

For the very first time.

In a decrepit looking junkyard.

If Brett knew they were going to kiss today, he would’ve done it somewhere more romantic but he supposes this is fitting. They’re only going to kiss one time and never speak of it again and if they do, it’s for memes and nothing more.

Brett still feels a responsibility to make this something for Aleks to remember, a positive experience and not just something he felt like he had to do for a podcast. What exactly is he hoping to achieve with that, besides the positive experience? Deep down, Brett knows, but he tells himself that’s the only reason as he leans forward to seal their lips together for the very first time, their eyes falling shut.

 

Aleks tastes like vanilla, most likely from that milkshake he had when they all went out to eat before the podcast. Brett is surprised to not taste any hints of weed or cigarettes at all, like he prepared himself to expect, but that would’ve been just as nice too because it’d be the taste of _Aleks._

Aleks sighs through his nose and Brett feels the slight air from that hitting his upper lip, a reminder of how close they are right now - the closest the either of them have ever been with each other.

Brett feels a heat over his bicep and it burns, it’s scorching, and it grows hotter as Aleks presses his fingertips into his skin through the sleeve of his shirt. The hotness radiates throughout Brett’s body and kickstarts all these sensations, such as the surging adrenaline and a quickly racing pulse, fuck, there’s so much going on in his body at once and Brett didn’t think it would feel like that during a simple kiss but what else did he expect to happen? He’s kissing a dude he’s beginning to have significant romantic feelings towards, was he supposed to shrug it off?

_ God, I can’t fucking stop kissing him, I don’t want to but I have to, somebody help- _

Aleks pulls away and raises his fingers to his lips, looking down to Brett’s. Brett mirrors that and adds onto that with an action of his own, the tips of his fingers grazing along his bottom lip as he wonders if that just happened, if he  _really_  did just kiss Aleks, and when he looks back to James, then over to Steven, it’s very apparent from their reactions that he did and it doesn’t seem to be this relatively simple kiss, an easy press of the lips, that Brett thought it was.

 

James blinks his widened eyes a few times at the standing pair before he looks away, scratching at the top of his head. “Shit, dude, that was better than I ever could’ve done.”

“Brett, can you teach me that?” Steven asks. “I-I mean, tell me what you did, not actually… I’m happily engaged.”

Brett looks to Aleks for his reaction but Aleks is still feeling at his lips and the other hand holds onto his shoulder where Brett was touching mere seconds ago. His fingers press into his own skin and for a very hopeful moment, the recesses of Brett’s mind escape into the forefront and tell him that he achieved his goal in giving Aleks a terrific first kiss that he’ll never forget, that perhaps he’ll have just as much trouble as Brett will trying to find other people after that, but Brett quickly pushes it back down and disregards it as an intrusive thought and nothing more.

Though he definitely gave Aleks a kiss to remember, as well as himself - that much is obvious. Right now, however? Brett isn’t regretting this at all.

Brett thinks it was completely worth it despite the fact that it has, without a doubt, ruined any guy for him going forward. The adrenaline fucks with Brett’s psyche and fills him with seemingly endless amounts of confidence so that’s probably why he’s not feeling any second thoughts towards his actions, not at this current moment.

Right now, everything is going to be alright.

 

As everybody else stays silent and stunned in the background, Brett proudly puts his hands on his hips and looks over into the lens of the camera with a bright smile. “And that’s the end of CC TV!” He exclaims, raising a hand to point into the camera. “We’ll see you all next week!”


	9. Brightest Hours Of The Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks absolutely does not want to kiss Brett again whatsoever. Also, a special somebody visits the Cow Chop warehouse and Brett starts to think that James has a bit of a point about Geoff and Gavin after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a double upload week so Chapter 10 will be uploaded on Friday @ 7 PM!
> 
> And thanks again to keeping up with the story and leaving your kudos! Feedback and such is always appreciated <3

****Aleks sighs heavily as he runs his hands back through his wet hair so he can rinse his hair of the suds. The water completely washes the suds away and Aleks’ hands follow to rinse them off his body. Hands run down his chest, his stomach, then over his sides to grab at his own ass before he turns around to press his hands to the tiled wall of the shower. As Aleks' eyes close, he lets the hot water soothingly roll down the line of his back and images that he thought were long gone, a distant memory of the past, are quick to surface.

_“Oh fuck, Brett!” Aleks groans as he stares into Brett’s eyes. “Fuck me, dude, I-” He gasps as Brett’s hand wraps around his throat and he raises a hand to gently wrap the fingers around Brett’s wrist._

_“Shut the fuck up,” Brett growls the words through his teeth and tightens his hold on Aleks’ throat, causing him to give a loud whine at the brief loss in air. “You do what I say.”_

_“I-I’m sorry,” Aleks gasps. “I am, I’ll be good from now on. I promise.”_

_“Good boy. Now are you gonna continue to be good for me? You’re not gonna start telling me what to do when I get this big cock in that tight ass?”_

With a long, low hum of discontent, Aleks shakes his head from his thoughts and stands up straight, running his hands down his face to clasp his hands together in front of his nose and mouth. He leans back against the other wall and opens his eyes to stare up at the ceiling.

 

Everytime he closes his eyes, these thoughts bubble at the surface. Aleks would feel a lot better about the whole thing if he didn’t know why it was happening but he knows exactly why it’s happening and he hates himself because he _isn’t_  hating himself for it.

This is all happening because of that fucking hot kiss he had with Brett earlier.

He can still taste Brett on his lips too if he thinks hard enough, tastes the sweet mixture of chocolate and mint, can even feel his surprisingly soft lips if he thinks harder. Aleks has always vividly imagined what it’d be like to kiss Brett but never, not once, did it occur to him that their first kiss would be shared in a musty junkyard, on camera, that’ll soon be shown to thousands and thousands of viewers.

Despite that, it’s still the hottest kiss he’s ever had and he doubts Brett knows the effect it has on him. He doesn’t even think Brett realizes how hard he went with it either because he was joking and laughing afterwards, like everything was fucking fine, like it was a simple peck on the lips and not a full blown, crushingly passionate kiss (and with a bit of tongue on Brett’s end) that made Aleks weak in the knees.

Kissing Brett was an oddly amazing combination of nothing and everything he expected it would be.

_Hey, remember Geoff? Your boyfriend?_

 

Aleks’ shoulders slump and he frowns as he drops his head to stare off into the wall but the tiles all blur together as he becomes enraptured with his busy mind. They’ve only been dating for a week and it’s been awhile since Aleks has been with another person so he shouldn’t fault himself too much for thinking about Brett like this, especially if it’s an open relationship. They discussed that pretty thoroughly…

_Aleks sits at the edge of his bed before he accepts Geoff’s call, sighing heavily before he holds the phone up to his ear. “Uh, hey dude, what’s up?” he asks._

_“There’s uh, a lot that’s up,” Geoff chuckles, “and we should probably talk about it.”_

_Aleks purses his lips out with a nod before he drops down to his bed, crossing an arm behind his head. “You’re talking about those pictures, right?”_

_“Yyyyyup, those are the ones!” Geoff answers. “Didn’t know uh, one picture could cause so much chaos.”_

_“Didn’t even know we were being watched,” Aleks mumbles._

_“I went on that photographer’s Instagram page and I don’t think they knew who we were,” Geoff elaborates. “Like, I think they just saw us and thought we looked nice together and they took that pic. I don’t think they had any idea what they did.”_

_Aleks feels more at ease now that he knows these pictures weren’t purposefully taken to out them. He even feels somewhat proud that somebody found him and Geoff so good looking together that they had to take a picture but the fact of the matter is, their privacy was invaded._

_“Have you read what people have been saying?” Aleks asks as he closes his eyes, rubbing at his forehead with the other hand. “I haven’t had a chance yet.”_

_“It’s not bad at all, mostly just fans wanting to know more.” Geoff shrugs. “It’s kinda weird though, they think we’re in a relationship but we’re not actually… in a relationship.” He chuckles and bites down on his lips, looking off to the side. “We’re just like, in a sexy game of limbo.”_

_Wouldn’t be too bad to date Geoff, if last week was anything to go by. When Aleks opens his eyes again, he sits up on the bed and reaches a hand over to grab the slide of pictures lying on the nightstand. They might’ve been caught at Pacific Park but it doesn’t mitigate the amazing day at all, nor these cute pictures they took together at the photo booth._

_They did look pretty nice together..._

_“Maybe we should be in a relationship,” Aleks suggests. “Why not, right? Fuck it.”_

_“You wanna actually give this a shot?” Geoff asks with raised eyebrows. “So it’s uh, not just fooling around anymore, you… you wanna do this?”_ _  
_

_“Wanna see where it leads,” Aleks looks down to his feet and watches as they gently kick back and forth, “but it’d be nice. And if everybody else is gonna assume we are, like, might as well go along with it, for real. Besides, I… I really do like you,” Aleks admits softly._

_Geoff huffs through his nose and smiles. “I really like you too,” he shares. “And I can’t argue with that sound logic. I wouldn’t mind that at all. I'd love to continue this thing we have but uh-”_

_“Too soon?” Aleks asks, the slightest hint of worry evident in his tone._

_“No no no!” Geoff assures… but then he purses his lip and squints his eyes. “Er, well, just a tiny bit, but it’s fine. We can do this but we should try an open relationship. Gives us more freedom to continue fooling around with people but we’ll stay emotionally invested in each other, nobody else. And the more this goes on, we can move this into something exclusive.”_

… so there’s nothing inherently wrong with thinking about Brett like this, especially when the taste of him is still fresh on his lips. The taste serves as an intoxicating drug that’s fucking with the chemistry of Aleks’ mind and Aleks wants another hit of it, until he’s so high that he can’t come down but he has no other means of achieving it again - it was just one kiss for one podcast.

_It’s just a fucking kiss, stop worrying about it and shower already._

 

Aleks leans back off the wall with a huff as he looks back to the shelf that houses their shampoo and conditioner, looking for the special purple conditioner that he asked Brett to buy. When he doesn’t see it after the third look, he rolls his eyes and settles for the same conditioner he’s been using to lather his hair.

He doubts Geoff would’ve forgotten that one thing. See, he’s already better than Brett! Aleks has nothing to worry about!

* * *

 

**May 23rd, 2017**

 

“Can we go home?” Aleks whines as he follows Brett with the cart. “I could’ve slept in.”

“You’re the one that insisted on coming along,” Brett says as he stops the cart, moving forward to grab some crackers from the shelf. “All because I uh, forgot some super special conditioner?”

“It makes my hair less yellow, dude, it’s got some magic shit in it. And you completely forgot it! I need that to look good!”

“Oh no, I forget things like everyone else, call the cops,” Brett says in monotone as he raises his hands in the air. “It’s been awhile since I’ve gone grocery shopping for other people, okay? You should’ve added that to the list before I left last time.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and crosses his arms on top of the cart, still guiding it along. “That’s not-” He stops when he hears the ringing of Brett’s phone and he watches as Brett takes it out of his pocket before he looks off to the side at the shelves. Hmm, those cosmic brownies don’t look too bad…

“Yo, it’s Brett… woah, Geoff, fancy talking to you in the morning.”

_GEOFF?_

Aleks widens his eyes and walks around the cart to reach at Brett’s phone but Brett keeps turning his head away. “Yeah, we’ll be in the office for like a few hours and then we’re going down to the Funhaus office to shoot something there,” Brett says. “Why do you ask? Looking to film some stuff today, collab or something?”

“Brett!” Aleks whispers loudly, grabbing at Brett’s arm to give it a tug.

“Sorry, Geoff, can you hold on?” Brett clears his throat and holds the phone high up in the air, the opposite side of Aleks as he widens his eyes in exasperation at the younger man. “Can you control your impulsive nature for 5 minutes?”

“You’re talking to my boyfriend, I wanna talk to him too, dude!”

“What if it’s something only we can talk about? Like channel business? Not everything is about pleasure,” Brett reminds him as he waves his arm around.

“Breeeeett, lemme talk to him for just a minute, please?” Aleks asks as he wraps his arms around Brett’s waist from the side, staring over at his phone. For a few moments, Brett tenses in his hold and Aleks thinks he won this little argument but then Brett starts speaking again and Aleks is disappointed to learn that he, in fact, has _not_  won and Brett is still as stubborn as ever.

“You have your own phone, just call him after I’m done. I’m gonna put him back in my ear now and we’re legit talking about something important so just behave or something?” He sighs and places the phone back to his ear. “Sorry, I’m back… ooh, you wanna surprise the boyfriend, huh?” Brett smirks and looks over to Aleks, waggling his eyebrows. “You’re such a romantic.”

Ooh, a surprise? What does Geoff have for him, besides an awesome dick? But seriously, Geoff is great. He’s fucking chill as fuck and easy to talk to, not to mention he’s very great at distracting Aleks from certain events and miscellaneous happenings in his life, like certain events that happened… a day ago!

 

Aleks tightens his hold around Brett’s waist and beams brightly at his phone. “Give me a hint!”

“Aleks!” Brett hisses as he holds the phone away.

“... sorry,” Aleks mumbles and looks away, but when Brett goes back to talking to Geoff, Aleks is suddenly beaming again.

Aleks can’t help it, he’s excited to see Geoff! He wants to spend every second with Geoff, think about him every second, because he only wants Geoff and nobody else! Haha, certainly not Brett either, that’s absurd. Boy that kiss though, that uh, that sure fucked him up for a good day but Aleks is totally fine now. Yes, everything is perfect in paradise.

“Uhh, y-yeah, it’ll be our little secret.” Brett looks back to Aleks and places a finger over his own lips, shushing quietly with a wink. “What time are you heading by the office? … 10:30? Well we get there by 10 so that’s perfect. We’ll see you two soon then! Bye!”

“Wait, see _you two_  soon?” Aleks furrows his eyebrows as he lets go of Brett, tilting his head in curiosity. “Who does he have with him?”

“Uhh, he didn’t specifically say who but I’m pretty sure it’s Gavin,” Brett answers as he shoves his phone back into his pocket. His eyebrows are furrowed as he watches Aleks’ facial expression shift from a curious one to an irritated one and he grins weirdly, looking back and forth before he squints his eyes at his friend. “You good?”

Aleks’ tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek and his foot taps against the floor for a few moments before he sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s just…” He presses his lips together and looks down to Brett. “I’m pretty sure Gavin doesn’t like me. Like, he’s sort of nice but anytime we talk, it’s so _awkward…”_

_Aleks walks out of the bathroom of the Rooster Teeth warehouse in his Samuel “Cool” Beans outfit and ends up bumping into somebody from behind, mumbling an apology._

_“You’re alright, I was probably in your way.” Gavin chuckles and turns around to look Aleks up and down and when he finally realizes who it is under the outfit, he swallows and takes a step back. “Oh uh, hey.”_

_“Oh shit, Gavin, what’s up?” Aleks greets. “How’s Geoff?”_

_“Fine. He’s fine. Uh. Always fine.”_

_“Have you seen him anywhere?” Aleks asks as he shoves his hands into his pockets, eyes darting around the warehouse. “I was wanting to meet up with him and uh… talk about some stuff.”_

_“That’s funny you say that because Geoff wants to uh, ‘talk’ about some stuff with you too but unfortunately, I haven’t seen him.” Gavin shrugs and walks past Aleks, holding up his plastic cup full of water in the air. “Have fun filming your show!”_

“You’re thinking too hard, dude,” Brett scoffs and shakes his head, patting Aleks shoulder and giving it a reassuring rub. “And isn’t Gavin kind of out there anyways?”

Aleks, most likely, is giving it too much thought but he just wants to know what the hell Gavin actually thinks about him. Is he cool with Aleks? Is he hiding his hatred behind a nice farce? It’s not like he can ask Gavin about it either because what if he lies? It’s important because if he’s Geoff’s best friend, then they should be cool with each other, shouldn’t they?

 

“Geoff said he was down here with Gavin to help him with some business stuff.” Brett shrugs and walks to the front of the cart, pushing it along with Aleks following by his side. “But he figured that since he’s going to be in the same town as his, and I quote, _‘extremely gorgeous boyfriend’,”_ Brett nudges Aleks’ shoulder and grins when Aleks looks down to the ground with an almost bashful smile, “that he’d stop by and see you.”

“He said that?” Aleks asks as he rubs the back of his neck, looking up to Brett through his lashes.

“You surprised?” Brett chuckles and looks to the front as he turns the cart into the next aisle. “He really likes you and it’s cute. I knew you two would be good for each other.”

“No, he says stuff like that a lot,” Aleks mentions as he walks off to the shelf to grab the pancake mix. “Like, he’s always saying nice shit to me. Telling me how good I look and all that. But uh, yeah, he’s uh...” He smiles again and drops the mix into the cart before he continues along with Brett. “He’s great. Thanks for pushing me to go out with him.”

Aleks wouldn’t have even considered dating Geoff if Brett didn’t say anything about it but then he did and dots started connecting, gears started turning, and suddenly he realized that a thing with Geoff wouldn’t be so bad. Brett is always there for Aleks when it comes to that, figuring some stuff out in his life. He’s been through everything Aleks has and so much more so whenever Aleks needs life advice, whether he knows it or not, there’s always that beacon of hope shining a bright light his way.

“Just don’t want you to lose out on some potential lifetime happiness with the possible love of your life. Glad things are going well with you guys, by the way, but I’m curious about the open relationship part. You don’t seem like the type to be into that...” Brett trails off with squinted eyes as he walks from the cart to purvey the shelf for a specific brand of cereal.

“Oh, yeah, that...” Aleks shrugs and leans back against the other shelf, looking up to the ceiling. “I mean, I’m not but I wasn’t opposed.”

“So how open is it?”

“We can fuck whoever we want,” Aleks explains, “but we can’t date whoever we want, you feel me? We only wanna be emotionally invested in each other.”

Though he’s never been in an open relationship before, it could be a big help to fuck whoever he wants while staying emotionally committed to Geoff. He’s admittedly not too great when it comes to long distance because of his sex drive but he was very willing to make an exception for Geoff and learn exactly how to make that kind of relationship work. The fact that he’ll be able to keep fucking other people will be a tremendous help with his sexual appetite.

… that is, if there’s anybody in LA willing to fuck Aleks.

Aleks purses his lips to the side and looks back to Brett. His eyes roam over the length of Brett’s body from behind, like those broad shoulders and how his body slims out a little, especially in the hips, before it curves around his thick thighs.

_… he’d never._

 

“You two really are adorable, you know?” Brett points out as he turns around, the box of cereal held right over his heart. “You guys are so into each other, it actually really makes me crave a relationship again.”

“Definitely has its perks,” Aleks notes with a chuckle. “And I’m glad to be in one again, for sure. When are you going to get a boyfriend so we can double date, dude?”

Brett snorts, shakes his head, and drops the box to join the rest of the items in the cart. “I’m still getting around to the romance aspect of being with dudes, remember? But I can find a girl and we will gladly join you guys. Now what’s the name of that special conditioner you need?”

And so the two of them trail off in discussion as they make their way to that aisle, Aleks asking Brett all kinds of questions about male pattern baldness while Brett deflects by teasing Aleks about how much of a twink he looks like now with his newly refined platinum blonde hair.

 

How did Aleks forget that Brett doesn’t wanna be with a guy like that? He just wants to fuck them and that’s the main difference between Brett and Geoff. Geoff actually wants a relationship with another man and he knows what he wants. He wants more than just sex and while this might be a small phase for Brett until he too knows what he wants from another man, he’s not ready for that at the moment, which is fine.

Brett can do whatever he wants. It’s not like Aleks is trying to date him so why does it matter what he thinks?

* * *

 

“I booked the game truck for 3 hours so it should be plenty of time to film all the stuff we want,” Brett tells Aleks without looking up from his computer. “Is Markiplier showing up an actual thing or is that just a meme?”

“Just a meme,” Aleks answers as he looks around Brett’s office, taking a step back and almost tripping on a stray wire.

Brett hums to acknowledge Aleks’ reply and then he focuses all of his attention on the e-mail. A few more words, a bit of proof-reading, and then it’s sent!

He hops off his chair and rubs his hands together, looking up to Aleks with a smile. “Okay, so we have about two and a half hours before…” He stops when he notices how intently Aleks is looking at his wall, his hand studiously rubbing his own chin in what appears to be deep thought. “Uh, you’re not plotting how to burn down my office or anything, are you?”

“You should give your office a makeover,” Aleks suggests. “Clean it up a little.”

“I have a desk and a computer and a big ass calendar, that’s all I need,” Brett retorts. “It doesn’t need to be flashy-”

_Knock knock knock._

Brett and Aleks look out the door of Brett’s office to the front door of the warehouse and they see two very familiar faces on the other side. Aleks smiles brightly and begins to walk over until Brett grabs him by the wrist to pull him back.

“Brett, it’s my boyfriend, yo!” Aleks gently tries to tug his arm away from Brett’s hold. “Ooh, you got a strong grip there.”

“It’s a surprise, remember?” Brett reminds him with raised eyebrows. “Go sit at your desk and I’ll bring Geoff over to you. Act surprised, I promised Geoff I wouldn’t tell.”

He didn’t exactly have a choice when Geoff called him whilst he was in the middle of grocery shopping with Aleks and, surprisingly, it went more smoothly with Aleks coming along.

Brett had a list all neatly planned out but Aleks found a few things that totally slipped past Brett’s mind. Brett’s usually not a forgetful person but when there’s so much going on in his life, like this new warehouse, getting everybody acclimated to comfortably living in LA, the burning need to stick his dick in Aleks, etc. some things fall just outside his radar.

But he probably would’ve forgot to get Aleks’ special conditioner whether he was forgetful or not. How was he supposed to know Aleks needed that uh, purple shimmer lights conditioner or whatever the fuck it’s called?

 

Aleks relents with a nod and Brett lets go of him before he makes his way to the door. As Aleks goes back through Brett’s office to come out the other side to go to his desk, Brett opens the door to allow the most disastrous duo of Achievement Hunter into their warehouse - what a perfect fit, for them to visit the most disastrous gaming group of all time!

“Surprised you guys haven’t found a way to burn this place down yet!” Geoff says as he walks in with a smile, a hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans. “Oh yeah, uh, brought this one along.” He shrugs as he points back to Gavin with his thumb. “He can’t stay away from me.”

Gavin scoffs and pushes at Geoff’s back, shaking his head. “You’re the one that begged to come along, hands and knees begging for it.”

“Don’t expose me like that,” Geoff says.

“Would’ve for sure thought you would be the top between you and Aleks.” Brett joins in as he crosses his arms over his chest, looking Geoff up and down.

“I’m whatever he wants me to be.” Geoff winks at Brett and then looks all around, raising his head high and lowering it like he’s trying to inspect nooks and crannies. “Where is that pretty boy, anyways?”

_Hope Aleks is alright with Geoff calling him that._

“At his desk trying to work. Trying being the key word.”

“Well I’m going to go completely fuck up his zen then! Hey, Gav,” he turns to Gavin and places a hand on his shoulder, “you think you’ll be fine without me?”

Gavin rolls his eyes and raises a hand up to rest on top the one on his shoulder before he sends Geoff a smile. “Been going a few years without you, I think I can manage.”

“Well you never know!” Geoff squeezes Gavin’s shoulder and then lets go to walk over to the door.

Brett is watching Geoff and Gavin, because it’s not like he can really watch anything else at the moment, and he notices Gavin’s thumb brushing back and forth along the back of Geoff’s hand, thumb resting over for a bit longer than it should-

 _No,_ he is not going to jump on James’ weird theory! Nothing good ever comes of overanalyzing somebody else’s interactions with their friends! Brett doesn’t know the specifics of their friendship so why should he be trying to act like he knows what’s really going on?

Brett’s going to do something he never really does - stay in his lane and mind his business.

 

“Hey, you can just cut through my office,” Brett offers. “It’s basically a straight line to Aleks from there.”

“Must be nice to just look over your desk and watch his every move if you want, right?” Geoff teases as he averts his direction that way.

_Sometimes._

“I try not to, actually,” Brett answers. “I like to live in the ignorant bliss that he and James aren’t always thinking of ways to destroy this seemingly indestructible concrete structure that we miraculously managed to get.”

“Didn’t this warehouse burn down once before though?” Gavin asks as he steps up to Brett’s side, the both of them watching as Geoff goes in his office and out the other side.

“Yeah, but the concrete was the one thing left standing,” Brett answers. “As long as we have a production space, that’s what matters.”

That’s one big advantage to moving their operations into a warehouse instead of keeping it within an actual, you know, house. While a house is going to feel more homely and less of a work environment, that’s not what Brett wants to keep portraying to the people he works with. They need to buckle down and work harder than ever now to keep Cow Chop afloat so they can continue to afford this warehouse and the luxury of doing everything in the glamour and glitz of LA.

They were able to maintain a lackadaisical approach early on, when the channel was starting out and already hitting its stride, but they need to get more serious. At the end of the day, this is still a job and it’s just as real as every other one out there.

Brett’s eyebrows raise to the top of his head as Aleks and Geoff wrap their arms around each other before partaking in a rather big kiss. It’s not a full on makeout session but one you give your lover when you haven’t seen them in awhile. It’s rather appropriate. It’s also the first time he’s seen the two of them kiss and it’s sort of a reminder to him that they’re together, quite happily at that.

There’s no way anybody could get in the way of that happiness, certainly not Brett either - no matter how good he kisses Aleks, or how much better he thinks he is at kissing him than Geoff but how can he tell based off one kiss, right?

 

They pull away with big smiles and as Aleks sits back down in his chair, Geoff moves to the back of it and places his hands over the armrests so he can lean over to see what Aleks is working on. Aleks’ whole aura has become more vibrant and bright and the corner of Brett’s lips twitches into a small smile as he glances over to Gavin, noting the tight smile he bears in contrast. His arms are crossed over his chest and his body seems closed in, like he’s trying to squeeze away or hold back something.

_… maybe he really doesn’t like Aleks._

“Hey, Gavin, can I get real with you?” Brett asks as he walks past the man to go back into his office.

“Hmm?” Gavin raises his eyebrows and follows after Brett. “What’s up?”

“Do you hate Aleks?”

Gavin barks out a laugh in surprise and squints his eyes, shaking his head. “No, of course not. Why do you say that?”

“You can be honest with me,” Brett assures him as he leans back against his desk. “I won’t go telling him.”

_Yes I would._

“Hand on my mother’s grave.” Gavin holds up a hand and twiddles his fingers back and forth before both of his hands shove into the pockets of his khaki shorts. “Is there something I do to give off that impression?”

Gavin seems honest enough and Brett believes him but he wants to get to the bottom of Aleks’ claim and figure out, for Aleks’ peace of mind, if he isn’t overreacting at all and Gavin really doesn’t like him, or if it’s just Gavin being Gavin.

“Aleks just says that he feels like you’re weird around him.” Brett shrugs. “I dunno, I’ve never really seen you two interact so I can’t speak for him.”

“Ah…” Gavin nods and looks back out the door of Brett’s office and Brett follows his eyesight. When Geoff wraps his arms around Aleks’ chest from behind before kissing his cheek, his pupils quickly shift over to Gavin.

Gavin’s body tenses as he breathes in deeply, exhaling a long sigh and then biting at his bottom lip.

Brett purses his lips together as a thought arises in his mind and with a nod of his own, he looks back to watch the happy couple interact. “They’re cute together, right?”

“Yeah, they are,” Gavin says quietly. “I’m glad Geoff’s happy. Aleks uh, really does a good job at that.”

“Yeah,” Brett softly shares the sentiment. “I’m glad Aleks is happy. They’re a good fit.”

That’s what really matters right now. If Aleks is happy, so is Brett.

If Brett wants to get real technical, he can say that he’s part of the reason why Aleks is so happy, because he’s the one that pushed him into giving things with Geoff a shot in the first place. But Aleks and him probably would’ve found a way to each other without Brett’s insistence - it’s probably selfish to pat himself on the back for this.

 

“I guess I am a bit weird around him,” Gavin admits. “But it has nothing to do with Aleks.”

“I get it,” Brett says. “I understand how you feel. We both want our best friends to be happy but we still can’t help but uh…” He gently bites down on his tongue to stop his mouth from going faster than his thoughts.

Yes, Aleks is happy and it’s obvious. He’s still in the honeymoon phase of his new relationship with Geoff but high chances are, this will continue long after the phase wears off. Brett truly wants to see them last but in the back of his mind lies a thought he tries not to entertain, the thought that maybe, just maybe, there’s somebody out there who could possibly be better.

The only reason Brett tries not to entertain it is because they work with each other. Otherwise, well… who knows what would happen then, but he knows better than to mix business with pleasure. Er, _too_  much pleasure.

Brett breathes in deeply and forces out a chuckle, shaking his head. “You just can’t help but worry, right?” he asks.

“... yeah,” Gavin agrees. “It’s something like that.”

 

It all disproves Aleks’ theory that Gavin doesn’t like him. Gavin likes him just fine.

It does, however,  give an inkling of truth to James’ theory.


	10. Darkest Hours Of The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks takes advantage of the open part of his and Geoff's relationship and Brett takes advantage of the alone time he has in the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up - there's some explicit sex stuff happening this chapter!

**** It’s hard to concentrate on editing this video when Geoff is here but that’s a small price Aleks is very willing to pay for this “surprise”. It’s been a few weeks since they’ve seen each other and phone calls and webcam sessions only do so much until the need for physical contact arises. That’s why this is an open relationship but there’s nobody Aleks really wants enough at the moment to explore the open side of that with.

Besides, who else is going to have a fucking awesome dick like Geoff does? Or kiss like Geoff does, in the way that makes him weak at the knees and is the perfectly odd combination of nothing and everything he expects?

_ Doesn’t matter, it’s never happening again. _

 

Aleks smiles as Geoff kisses his cheek and he raises his hands up to grab the arms that are wrapped around his chest from behind. “So what are our plans this weekend?” he asks. “I know you got stuff going on with Gavin today but if you’re not doing anything afterwards, we can always…” He shrugs and turns his head to the side to look at Geoff, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

“Ahh, I’m sort of actually here on business,” Geoff admits with a sigh as he lets go of Aleks to stand up straight. “And after you leave to do your thing with Funhaus, I won’t be seeing you too much.”

“Aren’t you like… on sabbatical?” Aleks asks as he narrows his eyes. “Why are you working?”

It’s a genuine question and not intended to be malicious at all. The whole point of a sabbatical is to take a break from working and recharge and Geoff, man, he’s been working almost nonstop since the creation of Rooster Teeth. The man needs an actual fucking break so why is he continuing to push himself right now?

Geoff blows out a breath and leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “I wanna help out Gav, he’s signing some YouTube contracts or something and then he’s meeting up with other people for Slo Mo Guy shit. Annnnnd considering it’s been awhile since we spent time together,” he shrugs, “I figured I’d use this trip to spend time with him too.”

Aleks rolls his lips back and bites down hard as he looks to his desktop, fingers tapping incessantly against his desk. He’s here in LA, where Aleks is, and instead of spending time with his new long distance boyfriend, he’s… spending most of it with his best friend? Aleks knows that’s a clingy thought to have but he figured that he’d be a bit more of a priority. It’s not a bad thing to want his boyfriend to spend most of his time with him when he’s in LA, is it?

“You okay?” Geoff asks as he looks down to Aleks’ drumming finger.

“M’fine,” Aleks says quietly. “Yeah, it’s all good.”

Geoff leans back off the wall and kneels on the floor to grab Aleks’ chair, swiveling it to face him before he leans up to peck Aleks on the lips. “Hey, I know it sucks but trust me, I’m gonna be thinking about you the whole damn time.” He smiles. “I’d invite you along if I didn’t feel like Gavin would be a third wheel. If it was the three of us, I’d be paying attention to you for, again, the whole damn time. So take that into consideration.”

Aleks quirks a grin and glances down to Geoff before he looks ahead at the wall in front of him. “Seriously, I’m fine with it,” he assures. “I just wish we could see each other more. It’s nothing. Just promise me something though?” He raises his eyebrows as he looks back down to his boyfriend.

“Anything your pretty little heart desires,” Geoff promises with a small smile.

_ Pretty works too, I guess. _

“Just promise me you’ll see me at least one more time before you leave. That’s all.”

“Oh, pft,” Geoff scoffs and brings his hands up to frame Aleks’ cheeks. “I was gonna do that anyways! I’m not that bad of a boyfriend.” He chuckles and pecks Aleks on the lips again before he brings his mouth to his ear to whisper, “I’ll do you at least once before I leave too.”

It’s somewhat reassuring to know that this isn’t the last time Geoff will be seeing him until he flies back but in the back of his mind, he’s still greatly disappointed and longs for that physical contact and affection from him. The hour or two they have right now with each other isn’t enough.

 

Geoff gently pats Aleks’ cheek and then stands up, hands on his hips as he looks around the warehouse. “So where’s your fridge? I’m thirsty as dicks, dude.”

“Yo, Geoff!” James greets on the way over to his desk, “I’ll take you there. I know it can get real scary in this warehouse, especially with Trevor wandering around.”

“Listen, I’ve seen a bunch of shit. I can handle anything you guys throw at me,” Geoff says as he follows James towards the direction of the fridge, but not before sending a wink back towards Aleks and blowing a kiss his way.

“Aww, you guys are cute,” Lindsay chimes in as she smiles over at Aleks, giving Geoff a glance before she goes back to work on her computer. “You two are like, made for each other.”

“Yeah… we’re cute…” Aleks sighs and his tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek as he watches Geoff walk away before he tries to focus on the video he was editing.

You know something? It might be time to entertain the open aspect of their relationship.

* * *

 

 

“Wow, Bruce, that was uh,” Brett swallows and rubs the back of his neck, “that was a  good hug.”

“Ahh, it was mostly Aleks that did the work in that,” Bruce says as he pats Aleks’ shoulder, giving it a firm rub before he turns around to open the doors to the Funhaus office. “Didn’t realize how strong he was!”

“Yeah dude, I’m built like Brett,” Aleks says. “I’m just plagued by bad angles and lighting.”

It’s always nice to work with the Funhaus boys! Given, this is the first time Cow Chop has done a video with them but it isn’t the first time for Brett and he has high hopes for the video they’re filming today.

He has the party bus for James’ birthday video booked with Minecraft for 3 hours which gives them plenty of time to riff off each other and try new, funny things until something sticks. If they finish it early? Well, they can play Minecraft!

… actually, they’ll probably just go back inside with Funhaus to shoot the breeze with them and catch up. Trevor might stick around for the bus though.

 

“Would you like some honey, Aleks?” Bruce asks.

“Ooh, hell yeah!”

Brett and Bruce watch on as Aleks squeezes most of the honey’s contents into his willing mouth, Bruce wrinkling his face in disgust while Brett looks around the office. Just Aleks being Aleks, this isn’t anything out of the ordinary for Brett.

“He used to do this before his Let’s Plays,” Brett explains.

“Well I guess it gives you the energy you need…” Bruce trails off as he sees the honey dribble down Aleks’ lips and onto his chin before it drips onto his collarbone and he openly licks along his lips. “Hey uh, Aleks, you got some honey on your…” He rubs his hand over his own chest.

“Oh shit, you wanna get that off for me, bro?”

“Of course!” Bruce exclaims as he grabs the roll of napkins on the counter. “I can’t have you playing Minecraft all sticky!”

“I play Minecraft sticky all the time, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

And with a laugh, Bruce gingerly dabs at the honey, his fingers pressing into Aleks’ pale skin with sensual care.

Brett swallows as he observes his oddly tender touch before he moves forward to close the cap on the honey. “Better uh, close this, lest you guys wanna get ants.”

They all proceed in normal conversation after that, though Bruce does pay Aleks a bit more attention with his words and uh, his touches… a lot of subtle ones but Brett notices all of them; the way Bruce rests a hand on the small of Aleks’ back, grabs his shoulder, or bumps their sides together. Why does Brett notice these things? Because he too, partakes in these touches with Aleks and it’s partly due to his crush and  _ oh my god, does Bruce wanna get with Aleks too? _

Images of Bruce and Aleks’ bodies slapping together flash through Brett’s mind and he screws his eyes shut, rubbing at them in his attempt to erase those inappropriate images. Bad enough he’s trying to contain his thoughts about Aleks and the kiss they shared yesterday makes it infinitely more hard but now he has to get rid of this less than hot image?

_ Lord, give me mercy. Lord, give me  _ **_DEATH._ **

 

After Brett hands out the invitations, everybody begins to filter out of the main Funhaus office but Bruce grabs Brett by the hand to pull him back into the lobby. He doesn’t have to say anything for Brett to know why he wants to speak alone but just in case, Brett will hear him out.

“Hey so uh, it’s real cool to see you again,” Bruce nods, “and I’m glad you brought everybody with you! Yeah, it’s nice to finally work with you guys-”

“Especially Aleks, huh?” Brett asks with a smirk as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Bruce hisses through his teeth before he lets out a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “Was I obvious?”

“To anybody else? Probably not, but to me? Definitely.”

“He’s with Geoff, isn’t he? What’s their relationship like?”

“Uh… what do you mean what is it like?”

“Is it exclusive? Are they just fooling around? What’s going on there?”

Woah, he totally wants to fuck Aleks! Get in line because lately, everybody wants to fuck Aleks. Only two people that Brett knows of but who knows who else wants to jump on that blonde train! Next it’ll be Joe! Then Trevor! Then Asher! Soon, the whole world will want to fuck Aleks and Brett will forever be stuck at the back of the line, never able to do a thing about it besides shout words of encouragement.

_ I hate having responsibilities. _

“They’re open,” Brett answers and narrows his eyes, looking Bruce up and down in a slightly judgemental fashion. “What are you trying to do with my boy, Bruce?”

“He’s yours?” Bruce chuckles. “Hey, have you guys ever…?”

“He lives with me so I feel partially responsible,” Brett answers, purposefully ignoring the second question. “Just say you wanna fuck him, it’s cool.”

It would be as easy as reminding Bruce that he’s straight but uh, Brett’s kinda moved past that. He doesn’t wanna lie but he doesn’t wanna full out admit to anybody else that he’s sort of into guys so he’s trying to avoid any conversation about that for now. Brett wants to fully figure out what he is first.

Bruce looks past Brett and out the doors of the office to see everybody in the parking lot, strutting and dancing their way over to the party bus. Bruce breathes in deeply before he rolls his eyes and throws his hands in the air. “Okay, yes! But come on,” he looks back to Aleks and licks along his lips, “he’s good looking. You can’t blame me.”

Brett understands perfectly. Aleks is even more good looking now that he’s gone full platinum blonde and with his new color comes a fresh aura of confidence, which too adds to his appeal. He went from being at his lowest with that orange hair to being at his highest with the blonde. Either way, Brett finds him extremely attractive but it looks like more people are going to share his sentiments.

“Just be careful,” Brett advises. “I don’t even know if Aleks wants to fuck around with other people. He seems pretty devoted to Geoff despite the whole open relationship thing so like, if you get rejected…”

“Worst thing that happens is he says no.” Bruce winks and pats Brett on the shoulder before walking out of the office and Brett quickly follows behind.

“So what’s your game plan?”

“Get his number, talk to him… just go from there. Simple.”

Ha, it is, isn’t it! It’s as simple as texting Aleks and building a close bond before asking if he wants to touch their tips together!! It must be nice to be able to freely ask Aleks if he wants to fuck without it ruining anything, like their friendship or the YouTube channel they’re trying so hard to monetize and make a living off of!!!

“And it’s what you do with girls, right?” Bruce asks with a chuckle and looks to his side as Brett catches up. “You know, girls and guys really aren’t that different from each other.”

Brett bites down on the tip of his tongue to hold back that urge to tell Bruce that he understands more than he thinks, that they’re actually a lot alike in their plights with men right now, and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his camo jacket. After taking a deep breath, he lets go of his tongue and swipes it against his lips. “Guess they are,” he mumbles.

The more Brett fucks guys, the more he realizes that the only difference with them and girls is the equipment they were born with. Yup, guys and girls are a lot more similar than one might think. They’re into the same things, dislike the same things… it really isn’t this huge divide that society likes to portray so why did Brett think there was such a huge difference, like one side might need a lot more to woo them? A lot more to catch their attention before anybody else can?

 

Brett looks up to see Aleks by the door of the bus, talking and laughing with James about… something, Brett doesn’t know what it is but Aleks seems pretty into the conversation they’re having. He takes off his sunglasses and looks over to Brett and the corner of Brett’s lips involuntarily pull up into a smile when their eyes meet, dark browns boring into dark browns.

_ Why is it,  _ Brett thinks, _  that he’s always the answer to my weird internal crises? _

They only stare at each other for a few moments but in those few moments, Brett feels like it’s only him and Aleks. Aleks gives James his attention again and Brett pulls his gaze away, diverting it all around the parking lot to find Asher so he can direct him, though he’s pretty good with the camera… it’s coming to work on time that Brett worries about. Er, along with a shitload of other things

Right now, Brett has a show to run. He’ll allow himself to think about Aleks when he finds a moment to himself again.

* * *

 

 

**[Bruce]** If you want my Sonic headphones, you can take them.

**[Bruce]** We only like Mario here at Funhaus.

**[Himself]** Dude, fuck yeah! Your trash is my treasure.

 

Bruce is so fun to talk to! He was quite nice to Aleks during filming and behind the scenes of their latest video too, not that he isn’t nice to everybody but there was extra care taken in his actions that Aleks noticed. If Bruce knew Aleks and Geoff were open, Aleks would even say with confidence that Bruce was trying to hit on him but he doesn’t so they were most likely just very nice, pleasant interactions.

Unless Bruce is secretly a relationship killer. But the dude’s like, a big ass teddy bear so Aleks doubts that.

 

As Brett opens the door to their home, he looks back at Aleks with squinted eyes before diverting that attention to his phone. “Texting Geoff?”

“No, I did that after we were done filming but he didn’t text back,” Aleks replies with a small frown as he heads into their home.

But uh, it’s fine. Geoff’s just busy and Aleks completely understands. They can’t text  each other every single minute of every single day but it maybe wouldn’t hurt to just get one text from Geoff that says he’s thinking about him. Aleks isn’t going to badger him with texts about how he feels either because he’s not a clingy boyfriend. He likes to think he’s a reasonable one. Geoff will text him when he finds the moment to, so it’s not a big deal.

“Texting… James?” Brett asks with some uncertainty while he kneels to the ground to be eye level with Mishka, looking into her eyes with a smile as he strokes his hands back and forth through her fur. “Ooh, you’re so cute!”

“Nah, Bruce,” Aleks answers as he walks over to the couch, plopping down at the other end with Celia slowly walking over to sit herself on top his lap. “We’re just talking about random shit.”

Brett’s eyebrows raise high and he grins up at Aleks before he stands up from the floor. “Bruce, huh?”

“Mmhm.”

“That actually reminds me of what I was meaning to tell you on the way back home,” Brett says as he raises a finger, walking into the kitchen. “Guess what Bruce told me? Back at the office?”

“What’s that?” Aleks asks as he sets his phone aside on the end table, allowing himself a free hand to stroke back through Celia’s fur.

“So he asked me about you and Geoff, right?” Brett starts as he opens the fridge to grab a bottle of water, bumping it close with his hip. “Wanted to know what kind of relationship you guys had.”

_ … maybe Bruce WAS hitting on me. _

“Did you tell him I was open with Geoff?”

“Is that okay?” Brett asks as he twists open the cap, taking a long sip of his water as he walks back into the living room. “You said it on the podcast and I know it hasn’t aired yet but I figured you wouldn’t care.”

“You’re right, I don’t. Just curious.”

“Good! Anyways, Bruce wants to fuck you. Thought you’d wanna know.”

Aleks already figured that but when Brett actually puts it out in the open, it’s somehow this huge surprise to him. It shows on his face as his eyes widen and his head snaps over for those eyes to peer directly into Brett’s. “He does?”

“Are you surprised? I mean, are you surprised that Bruce wants to fuck you?” Brett asks as he leans against the wall to look at Aleks.

“Like… I kinda figured,” Aleks admits as he looks from Brett to the ground, “because he was super nice to me today and shit. But it’s still like, a surprise because like, woah, this hot guy actually wants to like…” He makes vague hand gestures and thankfully, Brett understands what he means.

There haven’t been any guys in LA who want to fuck Aleks but Aleks is with Geoff at the moment so he stopped caring after they started seeing each other. Nonetheless, he figured he’d call off the search entirely and mark himself off as undesirable in this new land but a hot guy like Bruce wanting to fuck _him?_ It’s a huge motivator.

“Aleks, you’re hot,” Brett chuckles and twists the cap back on his water. “It shouldn’t be a surprise.”

The compliment doesn’t mean anything. Aleks knows that. It’s like how he finds James attractive but it doesn’t mean he would sleep with him. It’s just a fact, to Brett, that Aleks is good looking. It’s not an indicator of anything more, and it’s why they can easily flirt with each other. There’s no expectations behind it! Just two dudes being dudes, what’s better than that?

Though his cheeks _do_ heat up a lot more when Brett’s the one that tells him this.

“Well hey, maybe you and I should get something going,” Aleks suggests with a grin as he looks Brett up and down, exaggeratedly licking along his lips and smacking them together. “I’m hot, you’re hot...”

“You think I’m hot, huh?”

“Hell yeah, dude, you’re a daddy.”

Brett quickly opens the cap and takes a long swig of his water as he turns back into the kitchen. “So um,” he licks his lips and twists the cap back on, “are you gonna go for him? Geoff’s not gonna mind?”

_ Does he not like being called a daddy? _

Celia walks off Aleks’ lap and Aleks stands up from the couch, snagging his phone from the end table before he goes into the kitchen himself. “Uh, don’t see why he would. He made it an open relationship in the first place.”

Geoff proposed the idea of an open relationship because of the distance and how busy he’ll get in the future so he shouldn’t mind it at all and if he does, that’d be some seriously backwards shit, yo. Fucking other people will be a distraction from missing the other and it’ll help to keep the relationship alive when they’re apart. Geoff can fuck whoever he wants and Aleks won’t get in his feelings about it!

Unless it was Gavin. But they’re best friends and Gavin is straight so really, what are the chances of that?

Not to mention… Geoff hasn’t texted Aleks back yet. Seems like he’s going to be busy all day but Bruce, well, he’s readily available.

 

Aleks takes a seat at the stool by the island counter and does a quick swivel before facing Brett, his arms lying on either side of the counter behind him. “What are your plans tonight?”

“Actually have a date with a girl,” Brett answers as he closes the door, turning back to Aleks with no water bottle in sight. “Just grab some dinner, maybe a movie, depends on how well it goes.” He shrugs. “Why?

Aleks shrugs and shakes his head with a grin. “Just curious. You’ll be out of the house by… when?”

Brett squints his eyes for a moment in thought but it quickly occurs to him why Aleks is asking and then he rolls his eyes with a laugh. “Wanna invite Bruce over? I’m picking her up in like, 20 minutes.”

“You’re a good man, Brett,” Aleks praises as he opens his messages with Bruce.

 

**[Bruce]** Even though you’re a Sonic fan, I guess you’re still pretty cool.

**[Bruce]** I GUESS.

 

“I try to be. Just be safe, okay?” Brett points a finger at Aleks before he walks out of the kitchen and towards the way of his bedroom.

Please, Aleks is all over that protection, bro! He and Geoff still haven’t fucked bareback yet because he’s that anal (hahaha) about getting infected with something. He doesn’t think Geoff carries anything but like, STD’s are nothing to joke about. He doubts Bruce is either but he’s going to have to follow the same rules. All of his fuck partners will, no exceptions made for either one, no matter how bad Aleks wants to be filled again.

 

**[Himself]** So even though I’m a Sonic fan, you’d still wanna fuck me, right?

**[Himself]** Kind of a shame if that was the only thing stopping us.

 

Not even a minute later and Bruce has already texted back with:

 

**[Bruce]** What time do you want me over?

* * *

 

 

There’s a graph online that details how crazy somebody is allowed to be in correlation with their hotness.

Despite everything in this girl’s Tinder bio that flashes warning signals in Brett’s head, such as the endless mentions of witchcraft, she was attractive enough that Brett was willing to give her a chance. Since when does crazy have to be a bad thing? He thinks that graph is bullshit anyways.

But after she said she was into blood magics and thought that menstrual blood was the most powerful blood to use, that was when Brett faked an excuse to go to the bathroom and come back out to announce that he had a _gnarly_  stomachache, and so he had to end the date early. He actually finds witchcraft interesting but he just doesn’t agree with uh, you know, _that._ Maybe that should be something Aleks searches next time they do their YouTube show...

Brett comes back to his home after dropping the girl back off at her apartment. He sets his keys on top of the shelf by the door and shrugs his coat off to set on the rack. After pulling out his phone, he turns it on and looks to the screen as he walks up the stairs. Once it fully turns on, he notices a new message from Aleks sent half an hour ago:

 

**[Aleks]** Hey, Bruce is over.

**[Aleks]** Just don’t come into my bedroom at all and we’re gucci.

 

He raises his eyebrows when he hears low moans from Aleks’ thin walls and he averts his gaze over to his bedroom door, knowing that he shouldn’t listen in but his sickening curiosity is forcing him to stand still and indulge that facet of his mind anyways.

“Yeah, do it one more time,” Aleks breathes out, a smacking noise soon to follow along with a loud cry. “Fuck yeah, fucking give it to me.”

“I had a feeling you’d be bossy,” Bruce chuckles, “but fuck, I don’t think I’ve fucked anybody as bossy as you before.”

“Good thing?”

“Bet your sweet ass it is.”

Brett hears another spank and when Aleks cries out his pleasure again, his chest tenses and a hot breath parts through his lips.

_ I really shouldn’t be listening to this. _

He slams his eyes shut, rolling his head side to side to calm himself before his eyes open fully once more, turning right on his heel to hide himself away in the bathroom. The sex charged noises aren’t as loud as they were before but there’s a few moments where Brett’s mind focuses itself towards that, forces him to hear how much fun Aleks is having and just how _hot_  he sounds as he’s doing it.

_ Could be me in there… oh my god, stop. _

“Shower, Brett,” Brett says to himself. “Take a shower. A _cold_  one, you fucking...” He breathes in deeply and shakes his head as he sets his phone aside on the counter. “... god, you’re a fucking pervert,” he mumbles as he begins to rid himself of his clothes, that now feel too tight against his body even though they fit comfortably before.

They’re both into guys, Aleks is in an open relationship, and he happens to be into older men but that doesn’t mean he wants to fuck every older man he sees. Brett doubts he’d be one of them anyways. If he was, he bets Aleks feels the exact same way he does about coworkers fucking - they both lived through the Creatures. They know what happened there.

_ It could be different with us, couldn’t it? _

Brett snorts and shakes his head as he steps into the now turned on shower.

_ Doesn’t matter, I’m never going to make a move. I wouldn’t want it to be some one night stand anyways. _

He’ll take a shower, rinse away all of these Aleks related thoughts, and then he’ll go straight to bed and hopefully, Aleks and Bruce will too! They still have to work tomorrow, as does Brett. It’s gonna be quite a long day. Brett can feel it right now.

 

Rinsing through the hair he does have does do some good for those thoughts and the scalding water is like an aphrodisiac for his skin. It pierces through all of his thoughts to leave his mind completely blank, in a state of tranquility. He exhales a long breath through his nose and tilts his head back, mouth parting open as his body comfortably heats up and burns away all the anxiety trapped within.

Brett rolls his lips back with a small hum and then reaches forward for the body wash, squeezing the contents onto his hands so he can lather up his whole body. This goes well at first, rubbing his own chest and arms, his abs, but his hand grazes over his dick and in an instant, his mind flashes with the image of Aleks’ hand touching him there instead.

_ We’re not doing this again. _

He lids his eyes open to blink up at the ceiling, like if he stares hard enough that he’ll see God on the other side and he’ll be able to ask him what the fuck he’s trying to do with him, making him think of Aleks like this when Aleks is never going to share these feelings. Brett feels like a creepy old dude, harboring these lecherous thoughts for the taken younger man, and with every day that passes with Aleks in this house, those thoughts become harder to ignore.

Nonetheless his dick needs to be washed like the rest of his body. Brett closes his eyes, gives himself a few jerks, and rolls his lips back with a content hum at the very slight bout of pleasure that tickles his nerves.

_ … just a few minutes. _

Leaning back against the wall, Brett rests his head against the tiles so he can lazily begin to jerk himself off. He decides to indulge himself in his dirty thoughts this time - maybe if he does, it’ll stop taunting him and he can continue with actually washing himself. That’s how it always happens.

 

He now allows his thoughts about Aleks to run rampant, not afraid to hold himself back for these few minutes. It starts with thinking back to yesterday, to that hot kiss they shared with one another - the hottest kiss Brett has ever had with anybody in his life.

Brett didn’t think that such a simple kiss could make him feel like this but then it turned out to not be so simple, that he might’ve actually done _more_  with Aleks in that kiss, and honestly? He’s a little bit excited to watch the podcast when it gets uploaded to see exactly how it went - if it was really as big as everybody made it seem.

He can still taste the sweet vanilla on Aleks’ chapped lips, how their mouths melded together in the most perfect fashion, the most perfect symmetry, and he wishes he could place himself back in that ethereal moment and never leave, lest it progresses into something more. It never will but then, that’s what his fantasies are for. If it did progress? Then Aleks would be with him in the shower and Brett wouldn’t have to jerk himself off, not when Aleks and his ass is _  right there _  for him...

_ “You’re so thick, Brett,” Aleks breathes against his ear as his hand quickens. “You know how good this would feel in me?” _

_ “Depends, how tight is that ass?” _

_ “Tightest one you’ll ever be in, probably.” Aleks chuckles lowly and darts his tongue out along his lips before he licks up the side of Brett’s neck to press a kiss at his jaw. “My tight ass and your big, fat dick… that’d be so hot, dude.” _

_ “I’d fuck you so hard,” Brett growls. “You’ll feel me inside you for days.” _

_ “Yeah? You promise?” Aleks asks as he quickens his hand. _

_ “I promise you right now. Turn around and I’ll show you.” _

Brett tells himself this is only for a few minutes, just enough time to give those dirty thoughts the spotlight they need before he can effectively move past but he soon loses himself in the pleasure and at this point, he can’t be brought out of those thoughts.

 

Soon he’s fucking Aleks against the wall of the shower, his thick cock pumping in and out of that tight ass he loves to sneak peeks at, and he can clearly envision how _pretty_  Aleks would sound when he’s getting fucked. All he has to do is remember how he cried out for Bruce and translate that into his thoughts, his _fantasies._

_ “You like the way I fuck you, baby, huh?” Brett asks as he increases the force of his thrusts, smirking at the loud cry Aleks gives at the shift. “Sure sounds like you do.” _

_ “Yes, daddy, **yes**!” Aleks cries. “Fuck me so much better than everybody-” _

_ “Ooh, everybody? Even Bruce? Even **Geoff**?” _

_ “You’re the best I’ve ever had, I **promise.** ” _

He’d love to be the best for Aleks. He’d love to ruin everybody else for him and show Aleks why he should come to him for his needs. It’d be so much easier to fuck Brett too when they live together. They wouldn’t have to drive out of the way for each other or take flights out to see the other. They’d be right here, willing to fuck all the damn time.

 

Brett groans and rests a hand back on the wall, pressing hard against the tile and curling his fingers to search for some sort of purchase, even though the wall has no palpable grip. The pleasure is creeping up on him, it’s pooling low in his stomach, and his whole body tenses in an attempt to bring him closer to what he knows is going to be an incredible orgasm. It feels so good right now, though that’s mostly because of the hot fantasy he’s having, that he’s finally allowing himself to have through months of feeling guilty about it, telling himself to push it back.

_ “How about you just leave Geoff? Let me fuck you all the time, all day, all night?” _

_ “Please, oh fuck, **please**  Brett!” _

_ “Daddy’s little slut, that’s what you are,” Brett groans. “Go on, say it.” _

_ “I’m daddy’s little slut, I always will be,” Aleks whines. “And I’m gonna be so good for him.” _

_ Brett chuckles lowly and spanks his ass, relishing in Aleks’ loud moan. “So much for being bossy, huh? You like being a slut for me, submitting to me, doing what I say?” _

_ “O-Only for you, daddy, you’re the only one who can fuck me into it.” _

“Fuck, Aleks…” Brett moans. “God, I’m gonna… oh fuck…”

He grits his teeth together in a groan as he squeezes his hand around his length, slowing down the pumps of his hand to a steady pace as his load shoots out and onto the shower floor, the remnants of his dirty thoughts washing down the drain. Brett continues to jerk himself off into the afterglow of his orgasm and then he blinks his eyes open, the entire shower continuing to be a blur in his new light headed state.

Admittedly, it’s not the first time he’s jerked off thinking about Aleks, but it’s definitely the most powerful orgasm he’s had. Brett has to slide down against the floor and run a hand back through his hair, closing his eyes so he can focus on regaining his energy. It also gives him time to think; about life, about this day, about the fact that these will only be fantasies and nothing more.

 

He sighs and rests his head back against the wall, shoulders slumping at the bitter knowledge that this is all it’ll ever be between them. He at least doesn’t feel guilty this time like he has in the past, so that’s some progress, but it’d be nice to get rid of this crush entirely.

He and Aleks aren’t meant to be together. It’s never going to happen. Brett tells himself this constantly but it never changes his mind one bit, he realizes. So what does Brett do, knowing that he can’t get over this crush no matter how hard he tries?

He needs to acknowledge it and continue on with life like everything is fine.

Because everything is fine; just as long as he doesn’t delude himself into thinking there’s _ever_  going to be a him and Aleks.


	11. We Are Holograms Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett figures that the best way to take Aleks' mind off Geoff is to take him to the club to get a few drinks in his system, followed by a hot body for Aleks to dance up upon. Does it work? Yeah, it works.
> 
> Only it works a bit too well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so based off the chapter summary, aleks and brett go to the club and clubs play music! i think that's Neat, because i actually cultivated a soundtrack to go along with this fic!
> 
> you're not obligated to listen to it at all and you can ignore it if you want! that is totally up to you! i just think the songs in the soundtrack go very well with this fic and its chapters, especially this one. if you're interested, you may visit the following link (and i'll go back and edit the original fic summary to include it as well):
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6m0RMLCk5q1LnZn3yPOn2m

**** **May 24th, 2017**

 

Brett takes a long sip of his water before he opens his most recent texts with Lindsey:

 

 **[Lindz]** We still going out to Avalon tonight? Probably bringing a friend or two along.

 **[Himself]** Yeah, that all sounds good.

 

It’s simple to make plans with Lindsey! Brett knows that when he and Lindsey make plans, they’re concrete and won’t budge unless there’s an emergency. The both of them aren’t the type to flake out of everything with some half-assed excuse. Why can’t others easily share that sentiment? If you don’t wanna make plans, just don’t make them! Lindsey is so simple!

Brett sets his phone back down on the table and picks up a few fries to shove into his mouth as he looks up to Aleks, who’s frowning down at his phone. Come to think of it, he’s been kind of down the whole day and Brett isn’t quite sure why.

He and Bruce had a great time last night. Brett knows that for a fact because he heard them way into the darkest hours of the night, so he _should_  be pretty happy. He should have a glow to him, and he kind of did in the morning but then they got to work and Aleks’ spirit seemed uh, a lot more dim.

 

Brett purses his lips together and gently nudges Aleks’ foot under the table to get his attention.

Aleks looks up at Brett through his lashes, raising his eyebrows to show he’s acknowledging his presence.

“You okay, dude?” Brett asks. “You haven’t even touched your food yet.”

They had some time in their work day to take a liberty with their lunch break so Brett decided to take them out to a restaurant with a nice patio to enjoy the lovely weather outside their warehouse. It’s put Brett in a marginally better mood, not that he was feeling bad before - in fact, he’s feeling rather… happier than usual. It’s not obvious but he just feels like things are going to go  _great_  today, you know? Like everything will work out in his favor.

“I don’t wanna bother you with it,” Aleks says quietly as he looks down to his phone. “Especially when I’ve been bothering you about it a lot recently.”

“You’re never bothering me, what’s up?”

Aleks worries his bottom lip with his teeth, takes in a deep breath, and sets his phone down. He clasps his hands together to press them against the front of his face, thumbs twiddling together in thought.

Brett continues to chew on his fries as he waits for Aleks to tell him the truth about his depressing despondent. He keeps his gaze averted so Aleks doesn’t feel like he’s being watched, like somebody is waiting for him to admit to the thoughts that are hiding in the back of his mind, that he tries so hard to push back until he just _can’t_  anymore but Brett thinks there’s some good in acknowledging those thoughts instead of pretending they don’t exist.

 

“Okay, so like,” Aleks rolls his eyes and brings his hands down to rest them on top of the table, “Geoff said he would make some time for me, right? And I was hoping we could get together at least once today but uh,” he scoffs and shakes his head, “he’s spending the whole day with Gavin again.”

Right, Gavin! Geoff’s best friend who _totally_  doesn’t have a crush on him! He doesn’t buy James’ theory that they have a thing going on but Brett can see something from Gavin’s side, at the very least. He gets this vibe and he’s pretty good with sensing that. Vibes, that is.

“Isn’t he on sabbatical?” Brett asks.

“That’s what I said, dude!” Aleks exclaims as he looks back to Brett. “But like, he’s really insistent on helping Gavin out and…” He huffs through his nose and looks down to his untouched fries, grabbing a few to shove into his mouth. “I just wanna spend time with my boyfriend, that’s all.”

Brett frowns a little and rests his head on top of his hand.

_I hate seeing him like this._

Brett wishes he could do something to take away Aleks’ mood entirely, say some magic words or cast a spell but unless he finds a way to drag Geoff’s ass away from his best friend, there’s no other option he can think of that will fully remedy a case of loneliness… hey, wait, Aleks doesn’t have to be lonely! Just because his boyfriend isn’t able to hang out with him despite the fact that they’re in the exact same town, doesn’t mean that Aleks can’t seek out affection and comfort within close friends!

Yes, Brett knows the perfect way to make Aleks feel better. Everybody else might’ve failed Aleks but rest assured, Brett’s going to turn his luck around and by the end of the night? Aleks will be wondering why the hell he was so upset in the first place! All Aleks needs is a few drinks and a hot body to press himself up on!

 

“Yo, listen, lemme take your mind off him tonight,” Brett offers with a small smile.

“I tried to get my mind off him last night and it didn’t work.”

“You’re also dealing with somebody completely different - me.”

Aleks swallows and presses a hand to his chest as his eyes look Brett up and down, as much as he can considering they’re both seated at the table. “Uh… so what were you thinking?” he asks, licking along his lips while he peers into Brett’s eyes.

“Lemme take you to Avalon tonight,” Brett suggests. “Me and Lindsey are going and I think she’s bringing a friend or two. You can dance, get a few drinks in, and you can just let go and have fun.”

That’s right, Brett is going to take Aleks out to the club to dance! Maybe not dance because like, they’re not super great or anything but you don’t need to be a pro dancer to have some crazy fun with your friends, nor the hot people that frequent these clubs. You’re there for the loud, party-like atmosphere and to get your mind off the many stresses in life!

Aleks blinks a few times and slumps in his seat, hunching over the table as he grabs another handful of fries. “I thought you were like… gonna say something completely different.”

“Like… what?” Brett wonders aloud as he picks up his water to take a sip.

“I thought that you…” Aleks chuckles and shakes his head, swallowing down his fries before he continues to speak. “I uh, I thought you were gonna say we should fuck each other.”

Brett’s eyes and lips widen but he presses his lips together before any water can spit out, instead, it dribbles down his chin and onto the collar of his shirt. He grabs the nearby napkin to dab at the wet spot and then he sets it back down on the table, forcing out a chuckle. “You and I? That’s not happening.”

_What the fuck made Aleks think that in the first place?!_

Like Brett fucking Aleks will do him favors in forgetting about Geoff… he doesn’t doubt that he’d blow Aleks’ mind in the miraculous event they do have sex but that would be a fleeting feeling, good for only one night. Aleks would still wake up the next morning, he’d still reach out to desperately grab his phone for any sort of virtual life from his boyfriend, great sex or not.

He’d only be a rebound. That isn’t what Brett wants with him.

Aleks’ eyes shift back and forth before he looks down to his fries, grabbing a few more. “Why not? Is it cause I’m ugly?”

“What? You? Ugly? I literally told you yesterday that you’re…” He stops when he sees Aleks looking back to him with a smirk and he relaxes a lot more when he realizes that Aleks is just joking. Right, haha, funny joke! Meme it up, 4/20 blaze it! Brett doesn’t have a crush on Aleks at all!!

_Everything hurts and I’m dying._

 

“Relax, I’m joking,” Aleks says. “And I know you’re all about keeping business and pleasure separate anyways. But uh, yeah, that’d be cool.” He nods and takes a sip of his Coke, licking his lips clean of the taste before he bites into his burger. “Are you sure I’m not like… imposing on you or something though?”

“You think you’re imposing on me?”

“You don’t gotta go out of your way for me,” Aleks tells him. “Like, if you want it to stay you and Lindsey and whoever-”

“Aleks, stop,” Brett chuckles and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you with us in some way in the first place, you know that. If I didn’t want you to come, I’d tell you to fuck right off.”

“Yeah, but-”

“But nothing! Aleks, seriously, I enjoy all the time we spend together. You’re fun as fuck, dude, and ever since you’ve moved in, like…” He trails off in thought as he looks down to his plate, wanting to find the right words to properly express how much more exciting his home life is now that Aleks has moved in - it needs to be sentimental but not overly so that Aleks suspects certain things, you know?

“It’s just been real chill, you know?” Brett finally continues. “And it’s cool to have somebody else in the house. Never really a dull moment with you.”

Short and sweet, Brett decides, is the best way to put it for now. One day, he’ll tell Aleks the extent of how much he appreciates him but only when he fully picks out all the right words to describe it.

Aleks stares at Brett for a few moments but in these moments, his body posture picks up and his face slowly lightens enough that he’s giving him a rather fond smile. He looks back down to the table when his cheeks heat up and he runs a hand back through his hair. “You’re…” he runs his teeth along his bottom lip, “... you’re... “ he huffs through his nose and closes his eyes, the fond smile returning. “Man, you’re really like my dad. Always like, taking care of me and shit. Looking out for me.”

Yup, that’s always what their relationship with each other has been like. Ever since the very beginning, Brett has took Aleks under his wing to show him the wonderful world of content creation and along the way, he opened Aleks up to brand new opportunities. Not once has he took his eye off him - though that’s happening now under slightly different circumstances.

Despite his crush on Aleks, that’s a facet of their relationship dynamic that will never change and Brett isn’t asking for anything in return. He’s more than happy to be a father figure to Aleks, even with the knowledge that this is as far as their relationship will go.

The waitress comes by with their one check and Brett takes out his wallet to look for bills. “That’s never going to change,” Brett says as he takes out all the money necessary along with a nice tip. “And I’m always gonna be there for you.”

“Guess I just need the reassurance once in awhile,” Aleks says as he stands up from the table, patting his hands down against his sides.

“I’m not gonna get tired of giving that to you,” Brett assures with a chuckle as he stands up from the table as well, shoving his wallet into his pocket. “That’s what friends do for - oh.” Brett stills when Aleks suddenly wraps his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, as tight as he can anyways.

“Thank you,” Aleks says softly. “For everything.”

Aleks squeezes Brett and the whole world slows down to a stop. The very few people that share the patio with them are blocked out of Brett’s mind along with any people walking by so he’s able to fully immerse himself in the hug.

It was so sudden that Brett needs a few moments to realize that yes, Aleks is hugging him and it’s in public but friends show their affection for each other all the time. It’s totally normal for dudes to hug. There’s nothing to misconstrue here. Brett hugs his friends all the time so what’s so different about this? Because he has a crush on Aleks? He already knows nothing will happen and there’s ironically, a big comfort in knowing that. Brett doesn’t have to get his hopes up if there was no hope in the first place.

So Brett closes his eyes and sighs through his nose with a small smile as waves of security wash over him. It’s a bit weird because Aleks doesn’t have strong arms like he does but Brett still feels… safe. Like nothing can hurt him.

 

A hand rests on the back of Aleks’ head and the other arm wraps around his waist to keep him close. “You know I’d do anything for you, Aleks,” Brett tells him in a pitch above a whisper.

And he’s going to do anything he can to ensure that Aleks has a fun night out. As somebody who wants the world and more for Aleks, this is a responsibility he needs to uphold but he’s more than glad to do it.

* * *

 

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_Dead Astronauts - Arms Of Night_**

 

The Avalon Nightclub is crowded with scantily dressed people of all genders and the majority of them are drunk off their ass as they dance to house and synth music. The lights flash pink and purple at random intervals in tune with the current song and smoke whooshes out from the main stage and into the front row of drunk dancers, who laugh wildly as the smoke envelops their bodies. Everybody in the club is having a great time, whether they’re dancing or drinking or talking, a combination of the two or hell, all three!

Lindsey has met up with other friends and they’re dancing with each other in an impromptu girls night. She’s wearing black leggings and a red top with a plunging neckline that shows off her cleavage - absolutely _stunning._ Any guy should be lucky to even look at her!

Brett has made a quick trip to the bathroom but he looks pretty good too. He’s wearing those cool green pants of his and black boots along a long sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose those manly arms of his. So… manly...

Then there’s Aleks. Aleks is sat at the bar counter and he’s wearing white pants and a white baseball tee with black sleeves along with a backwards black baseball cap. What is he doing at the bar counter? Well, he’s currently checking his phone for any texts from Geoff but Geoff hasn’t replied since his last text a few hours ago.

Er, a little more than a few hours ago…

 

 **[Geoff]** Me and Gavin just went to Pacific Park and the fucking doofus spilled his ice cream into the ocean.

 **[Geoff]** Really missing you right now.

 **[Himself]** Glad you guys are having fun. I’m really missing you too! Call me tonight.

 

By the way? It’s officially 11 PM now.

 

_“You’ve got your secrets, and I’ve got mine.”_

 

Aleks doesn’t want to spend every second with Geoff.

Seriously! He doesn’t!

He knows that Geoff is hella busy, even though he’s on _sabbatical_  so he shouldn’t be busy at all but what does Aleks know, right! He’s not a big boss type like Geoff and Brett are! So it shouldn’t be a surprise to him that Geoff is spending the whole day with Gavin again, even taking Gavin to their first official date spot but it’s fine! He and Brett and Lindsey are at Avalon now and they’re going to dance and drink the night away!

 

_“We could leave this all be…”_

 

Aleks frowns and sets his phone down on the bartop.

_Fuck, I really wish Geoff was here._

He closes his eyes and starts rubbing his temples, internally lambasting himself for his melodramatic thoughts. This is fucking ridiculous, he’s never been so hung up on a guy before! He’s fucking busy, that’s all it is! Right? Just so happens to be extremely busy in LA now that Gavin is with him this time...

 

_“Leave this all behind… tonight.”_

 

Aleks is literally shaken out of his thoughts when he feels a big, strong hand clamp his shoulder from behind. The sound of the man’s laughter is a loud vibration rumbling against his ear and it stands out more than the pulsing music he hears. When Aleks looks down, he sees a newly filled shot glass on the table and grabs it on instinct.

 

_“When the moon comes out, I hear you shout, got my fingers crossed it’s you...”_

 

“Dude, you _need_ to stop looking at your phone.” Brett tells him as he crosses his arms on top the counter beside Aleks, watching as he downs his shot - his favorite, a rum and coke. “You’re in one of the best dance clubs of LA, go out and have fun!”

 

_“If you let me out, I’ll promise you’ll know what to do.”_

 

Aleks clears his throat and looks over to Brett, holding up his phone and wagging it back and forth in the air before he shoves it into the pocket of his white jeans. “Yo dawg, I can’t miss anything important. What if Geoff suddenly decides to text me to tell me he won the lottery and he’s giving all his shit to me? Ever think about that?”

 

_“Carried away, in the arms of night...”_

 

Brett shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I took you out tonight so you could get your mind off Geoff. You’ve been checking your phone more than a helicopter mom when her 16 year old hasn’t texted her back in 5 minutes.”

 

_“Carried away, without a fight, I know... I can’t go home.”_

 

Aleks slumps in his stool and crosses his arms on top of the counter, elbows barely brushing against Brett’s. “I fucking hate myself for it, dude,” Aleks sighs. “Like he’s here, he’s close by, but I can’t be with him.”

 

_“But I won’t be alone…”_

 

“I know he’s in LA but even though he’s on sabbatical, there’s still a lot he has to do,” Brett reasons. “And Gavin’s like…” he presses his lips together and looks the other way, tongue poking around the inside of his cheek. “... Gavin’s uh… well, they’ve been close for so long so it makes sense for him to wanna help him out. Especially if they don’t uh, see each other too much.”

 

_“Carried away, in the arms of night…”_

 

Brett’s words should be reassuring but the way he keeps pausing and stopping himself makes Aleks anxious, makes him wonder if Brett is holding something back.

Aleks just stares down at his crossed arms, trying to wonder what that something would be. Though he’s still not calmed in the slightest, he does appreciate what Brett is trying to do for him. He really is like Aleks’ dad, the way he takes time out of his day to make sure Aleks is okay, putting a roof over his head, and all around looking out for his well being.

 

_“Just out of reach of daylight, I know… I can’t go home…”_

 

Their entire relationship will only be platonic and familial. It’s why Brett would laugh off the thought of them fucking and Aleks knows he should be doing the same, considering their relationship. When Brett calls Aleks hot, it has as much meaning as a dad saying that his son is handsome. It’s totally wrong to think of it as anything more. Except they’re not father and son, so if Aleks really does want Brett to fuck him… why should that be so outlandish?

 

_“Carry me away to the dark, dark night…”_

 

But he’s not broken up about it at all. It’s just one of the many thoughts deep in his mind that he’s entertaining in this near endless silence between them, the loud music serving as white noise that prevents him from getting totally lost. Brett’s voice is the only thing to fully bring him back out.

 

_“Holding onto visions of the clear daylight, I know you won’t go home.”_

 

“I wouldn’t think too hard about it,” Brett tells him as he looks back his way, standing up straight. “I know it sucks, not being able to see him, but he likes you. It’s obvious he does and I bet he feels bad.” Brett rests a hand over Aleks’ upper back to gently rub at it before it rests on the nape of his neck.

 

_“I know you’re here alone.”_

 

Aleks rolls his shoulders back as he relaxes in Brett’s oddly warm touch. He’s finding a lot more peace now than he did with Brett’s words, though there’s still a nagging thought in his mind that pushes its way out of his mouth. “You don’t think they like each other?” Aleks asks.

Brett grits his teeth together and looks up to the bartender, raising his other hand and motioning for him to bring two more shots before he looks back to Aleks. “Uhh, I mean, I don’t think Geoff likes Gavin...”

The resulting silence provides another answer that Aleks isn’t too fond of either - but better than the other option.

“So you think Gavin likes my boyfriend,” Aleks finishes for him in a dejected tone. “That’s sooooo cool, bro.”

Now Aleks has to worry about them being together and he’s gonna look like a possessive boyfriend for doing so! He figured an open relationship would be less complicated with the widened boundaries but Aleks is already more stressed in the beginning of this relationship than his others! What the hell!

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_IAMX - Aphrodisiac_**

 

“I… yeah,” Brett hisses through his teeth and gives a thumbs up to the bartender when he brings them their shots, “I don’t know it for a fact but me and him were talking the other day and I got a vibe. And I’m pretty good at knowing my vibes. Still, I wouldn’t think alot about it.”

“You keep telling me that.”

“And I mean it,” Brett says as he nudges Aleks’ shot over. “Don’t worry about Gavin, worry about Geoff. You think he feels the same way?”

Aleks picks up his glass and peers down into it. He thinks he’ll find the magical answer to all of his relationship problems but all he sees is his sad reflection staring back up at him. “Hope he doesn’t.”

“If he doesn’t feel the same way, then it’s fine!” Brett says with a smile as he picks up his shot glass, the other arm wrapping around Aleks’ shoulder as he quickly downs it. He slams it back on the counter with a satisfying “ah” and then looks down to Aleks. “Your turn, come on. You’ll feel better.”

“What if like… I don’t fucking know, dude, I’m still anxious,” Aleks sighs before he downs his shot and sets it on the counter besides Brett’s empty glass. He licks his lips and squints his eyes as he feels a slight burn at his throat, but it serves to burn away some of his worries as well. “Ooh, feeling a tiny bit better already.”

 

_“Sweetheart, where do you come from?”_

 

Brett rolls his eyes and looks up to the ceiling of the club, rolling his lips back in contemplation. “Okay… let’s say, for example…” he blows out a breath and blinks a few times before he looks to Aleks. “... I liked you. And I wanted to be with you. It wouldn’t fucking matter because you’re devoted to Geoff so there’s nothing to worry about. You wouldn’t even think about leaving him for me. So I wouldn’t fault people for liking your boyfriend. If anything, I’d be kinda flattered.”

 

_“Oh, you’re burning like a fire in my head…”_

 

Of course Aleks would never leave Geoff, he’s like… super cool and shit. He just wishes they could spend more time together.

And that Geoff would text him back.

… and that Geoff wouldn’t take Gavin to their first date spot because like, that’s _their_  spot, but then, maybe Aleks shouldn’t wish for all of those things. He knows Geoff won’t leave him for Gavin. It’s like Brett said, what is there to worry about? They’re equally devoted to each other.

Everything’s going to be alright with him and Geoff. He needs to let Geoff do his business with Gavin and in the meantime, he’ll be dancing in the club and drinking with his friends. Aleks doubts Geoff would want him to sulk the entire night anyways.

 

_“You’re the perfect vision…”_

 

Aleks reaches a hand up to adjust his hat but Brett has already swiped it from him to set it backwards on his own head with a smirk. Aleks watches Brett with widened eyes as Brett slowly steps backwards from the bar and he whines as he hops off his stool to follow. “Breeeeett, give it back!” he demands.

 

_“I will love you like I’ve never loved before, you’re my hardcore…”_

 

“Only if you dance with me, Aleks!” Brett says as he holds out his hand, waggling his fingers. “Still don’t think I’ve taken your mind off about it juuuuust yet!”

 

_“... obsession…”_

 

Aleks scoffs and squints his eyes as he looks to Brett’s hand for a few moments before he looks back into his eyes. “I like to get real close with my guys, you think you can handle that?”

 

_“I want your contact!”_

 

Brett throws his head back with a laugh and looks back down to Aleks. “What, you think I can’t? Try me.”

 

_“I think I cannot fight your aphrodisiac - can’t know that only you can make me whole.”_

 

Aleks looks to Brett’s waggling fingers again and licks along his lips as images of him and Brett proceed to manifest in his head; their foreheads pressed together, bodies rubbing up on one another, hot breaths ghosting over lips, wandering hands, and his body involuntarily shivers at the chill that settles upon his skin, but he realizes the chill has come from Brett’s hand that he must’ve decided to grab onto in the midst of his thoughts.

_It’s just dancing._

“I don’t know,” Aleks says as he lets Brett twirl him before they meet face to face once more with mirroring smirks. “Let’s find out.”

“Think the question is, can you handle me?” Brett asks as he wraps an arm around Aleks’ waist so he can suddenly dip him, grinning hugely at the look of surprise on Aleks’ face.

Aleks stares up at Brett and continues to stare as he’s brought back up to his feet, taken aback by the maneuver and how _effortlessly_  Brett performed it. He has the ability to easily move Aleks around and do with his body as he pleases, of course he can, have you fucking seen the dude’s arms? Brett has phenomenal upper body strength and it’s actually really hot, how at any moment, he could throw Aleks against a wall or lift him into the air…

 

_“Swept drenched, shallow compulsions...”_

 

… but Aleks can handle him. Aleks has a thing for how strong he is but Brett has a thing for pretty boys and despite the relationship they have, Aleks knows there’s a part of Brett deep down that won’t be able to resist.

Dancing with him, that is. Nothing more.

 

_“Oh, you do anything to force out the god in bed in me.”_

 

Beams of red and yellow light and overlays of white beams bounce and shimmer off the black walls and stainless steel fixtures. They cast vibrant colors among the many club patrons, who are becoming more brazen with their dancing as the alcohol pumps through their systems and inspires them to do things that they were once too shy to do. Bodies are closing in together and lips brush over ears, whispering promises of what’s to come later in the dark night.

Aleks turns on his heel and steps backwards until he feels the line of Brett’s torso meeting with the curvature of his back, letting go of their hands so he can raise one up to wrap around the back of Brett’s neck from the front. He tilts his head to the side with a small grin as he slowly rolls his hips back and forth against Brett’s crotch, licking along his lips when he feels his natural bulge pressing into him.

 

_“You make me animal… your unaffection…”_

 

“When I say I like to get close,” Aleks says lowly, “this is what I mean.”

Brett’s chuckle dips as low as Aleks’ voice and the shift in pitch is obvious when it’s near his ear but what makes Aleks know Brett’s mouth is that close is not his voice but rather his beard. It’s slightly coarse and scratches against his neck and it makes Aleks’ body shiver again.

 

_“I want your contact!”_

 

“Didn’t think you meant it any other way,” Brett breathes as his hands lay themselves on Aleks’ hips, fingertips pressing through his white shirt to gently dig into his skin. “And I like to get close too, by the way.”

Another wave of smoke expels from the floor to shroud the whole crowd in a white mist, projecting the illusion that there are less people then there really are. You can only see as far as the person in front of you and for Aleks and Brett, it means they can only see and feel each other and just barely do they see the couple in front of them.

Even though it seems like to Aleks and Brett that they’re the only two in this club, the heat and energy from everybody else is still radiating throughout and their sex charged presence transfers over to the men’s next touches, the way Aleks rests his other hand on top the one on his hip, how the hand he has on Brett’s neck gently curls to grab the ends of his hair lying at the base of his skull in an underlying need to be closer, to fill the modicum of empty space between them.

 

_“... I know that only you can make me whole - only you can make me whole.”_

 

“I can feel you,” Aleks breathes. “Like… I can _feel_ you, dude.”

“Am I making you nervous at all?” Brett asks with a bit of a worried chuckle. “Is it too much? Do you-”

“No.” Aleks shakes his head with a small chuckle and runs his teeth along his bottom lip. “Fuck no.”

 

_“... I think I can not fight your aphrodisiac.”_

 

Brett’s body is a glacier that forces Aleks to follow along the movements he sets and Aleks willingly follows along so their bodies can bump and grind in sync with each other. But Brett melts enough for the both of them to follow an internal rhythm they have set, their heartbeats serving as the sampled tune.

Aleks can feel Brett’s ragged, short breaths and each breath against his ear makes his heart pump faster, forces hot breathes past his own lips. He tightens his hold on Brett’s hand and in turn, Brett tightens the grip on his hips, gyrates his own against Aleks’ ass, and it makes Aleks roll his lips back with a slight hum of approval. Brett’s hips seem desperate, like he shares Aleks’ sentiment in closing the space so they can have more of each other.

What was he even freaking out about earlier? It was about something… or someone… Aleks can’t even fucking remember, it’s not even a thought in his mind, in fact, there are _no_ thoughts in his mind as the present is his only focus - no past, no future, just him and Brett, nothing and nobody else. Brett’s deft hips and dominant hands command all of Aleks’ attention and Aleks is happy to give it to him - _everything_  to him.

 

_“Sweetheart, where do you come from?”_

 

Their bodies are tinted with red and yellow underneath the colorful, wandering lights and they could be mistaken for flames from far away, which is a bit funny considering Aleks feels like he’s on fucking fire and fuck, Brett does too, his hands are so warm and his chest is a furnace that Aleks doesn’t wanna pull away from. Even when the heat is scorching and makes Aleks wanna take his clothes off, he can’t bear to drag himself away.

 

_“You’re burning like a fire in my head - you’re the perfect vision.”_

 

In fact, Aleks wants more. He wants so much more of the heat that Brett’s body is giving off and if he has to tear apart Brett’s own clothes, then he’ll do it, he’ll do it without a question, but it looks like that isn’t happening because when the song slowly quiets down and ebbs into the next, Brett’s hands slowly, almost hesitantly, loosen their grip on Aleks’ hips and their bodies are no longer so tightly pressed together.

_Come back, asshole!_

Aleks feels a small, but noticeable weight over his head and he reaches his hands up to feel that his baseball cap took its rightful home again on its head, placed backwards just the way he likes it. Aleks turns around to look at Brett who gives him a bit of a tight smile before wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

“Wanna find where Lindsey is?”

Oh. Right. They came with Lindsey, didn’t they? It’s not just them… but for those moments, it felt like it.

He kind of wants to go back to those moments, but that’s the past now. They’re living in the present and in the present, they need to find Lindsey.

The majority of the smoke has vanished and dimmed to lightly dull the room in gray and when Aleks looks out at the floor, he’s surrounded by many, many drunk people. He and Brett were just faces in the crowd, lost in the music and uh, each other. Or Aleks was lost in Brett anyways… Brett was just humoring him because he’s a good friend like that.

He wanted to take Aleks’ mind off Geoff and it worked.

(A little bit too well.)

 

Aleks hears his phone ring and looks down to see the lit up screen through his pocket but he dismisses it quickly as he looks back to Brett with a small smile. “Sure,” he says. “And thanks for giving my hat back.”

“You think I can have it back, actually?” Brett asks as he and Aleks slowly go through the crowd. “I wanna hide this bald spot.”

Aleks scoffs and pushes at Brett’s chest. “You’re fine.”

_So. Fucking. Fine._

It is, in fact, quite ridiculous how fine Brett is. He really knows how to move his hips too, and grab and move Aleks like he’s fucking nothing, but more importantly, he makes Aleks his first priority. Even with all the work they do, the people they meet, he moves the whole world just to accommodate him.

 

What if they didn’t know each other? What if they were strangers who met in this club for the first time? Would something happen? Or would they just share this one dance and go their separate ways? It’s a good “what if” to think on but alas, this is not the timeline they’re in and Aleks is happy with the one he currently lives in...

… but sometimes, especially times right now, he wonders.


	12. Fading With The Twilight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett has a big dick. Seriously, it's HUGE. Oh yeah, somebody special finally returns to Aleks and everything is fine in paradise once more!
> 
> ... for like, a week. Then things become, well, not so fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a double upload week, so Chapter 13 will be uploaded this Friday around 7 PM!
> 
> There's also been a slight uptake in kudos and comments recently and I just wanna say thank you so much! My heart is so full :')
> 
> (also no furries were harmed in the making of this chapter)

**** **May 25th, 2017**

 

The morning routine has shaken up exponentially with Aleks cooking breakfast for the both of them.

It’s not without a lot of help from Brett throughout the steps; reminding him when to preheat the oven, how much water he needs, etc. but Aleks is a natural learner and he takes to Brett’s instructions easily. Towards the end, Brett leaves Aleks to his own devices and he sits at the table, playing around on his phone but still monitoring from afar.

 

Brett raises his eyebrows when he hears Aleks’ soft voice and the quiet clanking of the metal spatula over the white ceramic plates. He sets his phone aside and sits up in his seat to listen in.

“Can’t know that only you can make me whole,” Aleks sings while sliding the bacon over the pancakes, setting aside fruit for Brett. “Only you can make me whole-”

“Dude, what are you even singing?” Brett chuckles as he watches Aleks make his way back to the table with their finished breakfast.

“The song we danced to at the club last night, dawg. Remember?” Aleks sets Brett’s plate down in front of him and then turns his back so he can wriggle his hips back and forth against Brett’s side. “When we did a little bumpin’ and grindin’?”

Brett gently pushes at Aleks’ back as he looks down to his breakfast, doing it one more time when Aleks still feels the need to keep pushing his ass in his face. “Yup, I remember, trust me.”

_ TRUST ME. _

Every single damn movement they did together, Brett remembers. How into it he got, Brett remembers that too. The way Aleks’ ass felt against his dick, hell, Brett’s going to remember that forever.

It was supposed to be some friendly dancing. Brett would twirl Aleks and maybe grind on him a little bit before giving his hat back but… some fucking dancing demon possessed him or something because he did a lot more than that. He didn’t realize it at the time but when the song ended, he instantly became aware of how exactly he danced with Aleks - he was practically dry humping him.

His crotch was near permanently nestled against Aleks’ ass, Aleks’ body was _so warm,_ his hips were so easily grabbable, and Aleks was tugging at his hair and his hand like he couldn’t get enough. Brett was getting drunk off it, so much more than those shots could’ve ever done. It’s like his only mission at the time was to give Aleks everything that he could and whether he succeeded or not, he knows he tried his damn best with it.

At the very least, he succeeded in getting Aleks’ mind off Geoff. He didn’t hear a word about the older man for the rest of the night and Aleks’ spirits seemed to be lifted. As an added bonus, he kept to Brett’s side for the majority of the night. It really fucks with Brett’s crush on him but hey, he has no hopes they’ll get together so it’s fine!

 

“Has anybody ever told you that you like… really know how to move your hips?” Aleks asks as he walks around to the other side of the table, taking a seat with his plate. “Kind of uh,” he chuckles and looks down so he can cut up his pancakes, “made me wish the song could go on longer.”

“Oh, um… yeah, I’ve uh, been told that a few times.” Brett nods as he grabs a slice of apple to chew. “Guess there’s some truth to it. How come you didn’t try to dance with anybody else?”

Brett genuinely is curious as to why Aleks clung to him the whole night but it’s more of a diversion tactic so Aleks doesn’t go into detail about his hips, how he wishes Brett could’ve basically dry humped him longer, you know, shit that could possibly cause Brett to stammer out something about a crush on Aleks or give it away. It’s a fucking miracle he didn’t start kissing up on Aleks’ neck last night or anything more but how much self control will Brett have before he just says “fuck it” and lets Aleks _have it?_

“I have a lot more fun with you,” Aleks says around his pancake with a small smile. “Do I need some super long explanation for that?”

The corner of Brett’s lips turn up into a smile and he shakes his head as he cuts into his own pancake. “No, definitely not. Just didn’t want you to think we had to hang out the whole night, cause it was your night to do whatever…” Brett raises an eyebrow and shrugs. “Maybe even do _whoever.”_

“Considering I fucked a dude the night before, I didn’t wanna feel like too much of a slut,” Aleks explains. “But I did notice hot girls. And guys. So many fuckin’ hot guys. Yo, there were so many fucking hot people.”

“Dude, just have them wear protection and it’s fine,” Brett assures. “There ain’t nothing wrong with being a slut as long as you remember to have them do that. Even if you like it bare,”  _ I really wish I could go bare with somebody one day,  _ “it’s not worth those STD’s.”

Aleks scoffs and takes a bite of his bacon as he gives Brett a wary look. “Why do you assume I’d be a bottom?”

Brett stays silent as he raises his eyebrows at Aleks with a knowing grin.

_ Is he for real? _

Aleks slumps under Brett’s gaze and averts his eyes down to the table as he says, “okay, yeah, I’m a bottom.”

Who is Aleks trying to fool here? Brett’s not one to buy into stereotypes, especially because people will hear his voice and immediately assume he’s gay so yeah, he knows what it’s like and he hates it, but christ, just look at Aleks! Aleks… a top… _please._ He’s so slender, he has nice lips, the platinum blonde hair, dude is the definition of a bottom.

Also, he’s real fucking pretty but Brett tries not to voice that aloud because he knows how Aleks feels about the word - even if he gave Brett the privilege to use it.

It doesn’t mean Aleks can’t be a top if he really wants to. Brett knows Aleks enough to confirm that he definitely wouldn’t be a pillow princess type but anybody is going to look at Aleks and assume bottom. The whole world, unfortunately, works off stereotypes.

 

“Being a bottom isn’t bad. Taking a dick up there is actually super manly,” Brett reasons as he slices up more of his pancake. “Don’t be shy about taking it, dude. Not that you are but… you know what I mean.”

“You saying you’re a bottom?” Aleks asks with a grin as he finishes off his slice of bacon, wiping his hands back and forth before he clasps them together on the table. “You like ‘em up your butthole, son?”

_ Better than being called daddy. _

Brett snorts and shakes his head, raising a fork to point at him. “I’m a top. Not that I’d mind taking a dip into the other side of the pool if I had to. It’s just sort of the way it’s worked out for me so far.”

“Okay, okay, I feel you.” Aleks nods and leans back in his seat. “You’re a top… I’m a bottom… ” He then spreads out his arms with a smile as he says, “Brett, we’re meant to be.”

_ That’s worse than being called daddy. _

It’s troubling, what Aleks has been doing with him. The thing is, Aleks kinda flirts with everybody (at least the people he knows well enough) but he’s really been doing it a lot with Brett since moving to LA - especially lately. Or maybe Brett’s just noticing it because his crush on Aleks is stronger ever since he moved in so everything Aleks says, everything that gorgeous boy does, Brett sees it with a thousand times more clarity than he did in the past.

… he’s probably just over analyzing it. It’s best to keep brushing it off like he always does and continue life as normal, like they’re just good friends who happen to be into dudes, who _happen_  to be each other’s type.

There’s probably another timeline where they _are_  meant to be and it’s not just some throwaway comment. It would be nice to live a day there and see what it’s like but there’s a reason Brett likes Aleks as much as he does and part of it is because of all of the circumstances that have put them here today. He doesn’t want to change a thing about it.

 

“Better not let Geoff catch you saying that,” Brett warns as he picks up his glass. “I’m probably stronger than he is but I could never outdo the anger of a jealous boyfriend.” He goes to drink his orange juice but then he hears a few knocks on the door and his and Aleks’ heads turn at the exact same moment to look over.

“You got a guest?” Brett asks.

“Do you?” Aleks asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Should… I answer it?”

“Bring a baseball bat with you.”

Brett gives a prompt nod. “Good idea.”

Brett stands up from the table to walk into the living room and he picks up the metal baseball bat conveniently propped against the couch.

Aleks peers his head to cautiously watch Brett as he nears the door, slowly munching on his bacon.

With a roll of the shoulders, Brett tilts his head side to side and raises the bat, wrapping his fingers tightly around the stem and he makes one of his naked pecs flex. He turns to Aleks as he makes his pecs flex again and he clenches his jaw. “Do I look intimidating?” he asks in his best intimidating tone, though the way he turns his head like he’s flipping non existent hair back sort of ruins the intimidation factor.

But it’s still rather intimidating - for a different reason on Aleks’ side.

Aleks’ bacon drops to the plate as he looks Brett up and down, in his low hanging sweatpants and nothing else. There’s a slight scattering of dark hair along the mid waistband and Brett’s hip bones aren’t too prominent but show enough to give away the beginnings of the trail to down under. He swallows his bite down and coughs into his clenched fist before he gives Brett a nod and a thumbs up. “I… uh, yeah. I would definitely believe you can destroy me.”

Brett nods his approval and turns back to the door when the knocks start again, stalking towards it. He reaches one hand over to grab the doorknob and very slowly begins to twist it. Once he twists it all the way, he suddenly slams the door open and then he jumps back with both hands holding the bat, primed and ready to attack.

“Jeeeeesus on my fuckin’ dick, dude, okay, I’ll call next time when I wanna surprise my boyfriend.”

Aleks perks up when he hears the sound of his boyfriend’s voice and stands up from his chair before toddling on over. “Hey, where have you been?”

“Fuckin’ busier than a whore in a brothel on Christmas Eve! But I called you last night like you wanted and you didn’t pick up, everything okay?” Geoff asks in a slightly worried tone.

“I took him out to the club,” Brett answers for Aleks as he lowers the baseball bat with a blush. “Me and Lindsey did.”

_ Because he was upset about you. _

“Ahhh.” Geoff clicks his tongue and points a finger gun at Brett. “Now that makes sense. You guys have fun?”

Brett swallows and averts his gaze the other way, rubbing the back of his neck and opening his mouth to admit that yeah, it was a lot of fun, too much fun, but Aleks is thankfully already making his way into the living room to animatedly discuss their night on his behalf. It allows Brett to hightail it back to the kitchen to finish his pancakes while the happy couple talk like they haven’t seen each other in years, even though it’s only been about a day and a half.

It’s still nice of Geoff to finally show up. He’s not here with Gavin at the moment either which hopefully means that he solely came to see Aleks and make up for lost time.

Brett really wants Aleks and Geoff to have a good relationship with each other because Aleks deserves that happiness but Brett thinks that Geoff definitely could’ve made a bit more of an effort to see his boyfriend. If he were dating Aleks and it was long distance, god knows how much effort he would put in for him. His devotion wouldn’t even be a nagging thought in Aleks’ mind.

Brett alternates between checking his phone and eating his breakfast because he doesn’t want to impart on the time this lovely couple has together. He could give them privacy but Aleks actually made some kickass pancakes so Brett’s gonna stick around, god damnit. Aleks and Geoff don’t seem to notice too much and only focus their attention towards each other.

… so maybe Brett ends up listening into their conversation.

 

“... so yeah, like, I’m leaving later tonight but I wanna spend the whole day with you until I do,” Geoff says. “I know I’ve been busy as fuck and kind of neglecting you and I’m sorry for that, fuck, you have no idea how sorry I am but you were on my mind the whole time. Every single busy second.”

“It’s cool, I wasn’t stressing,” Aleks chuckles. “Like, I get it, you’re busy. Don’t apologize.”

Brett grins as he takes a sip of his orange juice and he looks down to his phone with widened eyes.

_ At least he sounds believable. _

He fully remembers how upset Aleks was before he took him out to the club later that night, because of _Geoff,_ but he gets why Aleks doesn’t wanna broadcast that. Aleks doesn’t want to seem like an irrational boyfriend and Brett doesn’t think he is in the slightest. He has valid concerns but it’s just interesting to see Aleks playing it super cool compared to his despondent yesterday.

“I still feel fucking bad,” Geoff sighs. “I’ve barely been texting you and I’m right fucking here in LA but I don’t… I dunno, I got too caught up.”

“Geoff, seriously, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t want you to think you’re not a priority.”

Aleks shakes his head. “No, babe, I don’t think that,” he assures. “You’re helping your best friend, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Well, it’s just me and you today,” Geoff says while he grabs both of Aleks’ hands to intertwine their fingers together. “I wanna spend the whole fucking day with you until I have to leave, doing whatever you want. You probably have work-”

“I’ll take the day off.” Aleks smiles. “Besides, there’s not really anything we’re working on today. I don’t think Brett’s gonna mind.”

That’s uh, very short notice but he’s right that Brett doesn’t mind. Any work Aleks does end up missing, he makes up for it rather quickly. He’s good with managing his time but Brett’s just a little bit annoyed, if only because it means he won’t be seeing Aleks in the office today. It means he can’t talk to him, play little pranks on him, or even fucking look at him whenever he walks past his desk. It’s going to make Brett’s day slightly less fun.

“Well if he doesn’t mind, then how about we spend that day with each other starting now?” Geoff asks as he pulls Aleks into his chest and he smiles at Aleks’ happy laugh.

Brett does too. He sort of wishes he was the reason behind it but he succeeded in making Aleks happy last night so he’ll take the little victories as they come. Anyways, he needs to think about going upstairs to get dressed-

“Uhhh, fuck yeah?” Aleks moves his hands to grab onto the collar of Geoff’s shirt, moving his head to kiss Geoff on the lips. “Mmm, you know, there’s a few things we can do in my room...”

_ That’s definitely my cue to leave. _

Brett audibly clears his throat and stands up from the table while he rubs the back of his neck. “So I’m probably just gonna get dressed for work now, let you guys chill here,” he announces as he walks away from the table. ‘Gonna leave in uhh, I dunno, 15 minutes from now?” He hints to the couple, along with a glance, and then he walks past them to the stairs.

“Just me and Geoff?” Aleks asks as he lets go of Geoff to follow after Brett. “Yo dawg, I need to talk to you real quick!”

“Okay, cool, what’s-”

“Privately.”

Brett looks back to Aleks and raises a curious eyebrow before he continues his way up the stairs. Did Brett already do something wrong? Or did Geoff do something wrong? Or… Aleks? He doesn’t have any clue what Aleks wants to speak to him about but he doesn’t think it can be too bad.

 

He opens the door to his bedroom, lets Aleks in first before he follows after, and then he closes the door behind them. “You and Geoff good?” Brett asks as he walks over to his dresser to plunder through the drawers for an outfit. 

“Hell yeah, dude, more than good,” Aleks says as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “I was just uh… you don’t mind, right?”

“Mind what?”

“The gay ass reunion we had.”

Brett snorts and shakes his head with a small smile as he lays his clothes out on the bed. “Why would I mind?” he asks as he pulls down his sweatpants.

“I don’t know, I just wanted to make sure-” Aleks stops when he sees Brett pulling down his briefs and his eyes widen when he sees what’s between his thighs. “Uh… make sure uh…” He swallows and looks the other way, scratching at his temple.  “... you uh, you’re really changing in front of me.”

“We’re both guys, it’s not weird,” Brett argues as he grabs a different pair of briefs to slip on his legs. “We have the same equipment, dude.”

“Yeah, I know, just like… first time I saw you naked just now,” Aleks chuckles nervously and looks back to Brett, exhaling a sigh of relief when he sees that his jeans are now on. “But like, I was saying… just wanted to make sure you were cool with it. That you didn’t feel like a third wheel or something. Or like, awkward.”

“Oh no, a cute couple is excited to see each other after spending time apart. Call the cops,” Brett says in monotone as he slips on his red polo, smoothing it down over his frame before he gives Aleks his attention. Aleks’ cheeks are somewhat flush and apart from that, he looks normal but Brett sends a small smile his way to put him at ease. “You and Geoff are good together. If you guys wanna play kissy face in front of me, I don’t care. He’s your man. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to love on him every second.”

Aleks looks up to Brett with pressed lips. “It’s not too much though, isn’t it?” he asks as his shoulders hunch together.

“Why are you asking me? You’ve been in relationships before.”

“But I’ve never had you by my side to tell me if I’m doing it right or fucking it up. I feel better coming to you about it.”

Brett opens his mouth to say something but he’s sort of struck silent by the implications of Aleks’ words - that he’s somebody to turn to with advice for one of the most important parts of life. In his quest to find love and that happily ever after, he wants Brett to be apart of it to ensure he’s on the right path with the right person.

A small sigh parts Brett’s lips before he presses them together and he goes to stand in front of Aleks. A hand reaches up to rest on the younger man’s cheek and his thumb strokes back and forth along the skin, watching it for a few moments before he blinks over to stare into Aleks’ eyes. The color of Aleks’ eyes are just the same as his own. It makes Brett appreciate the eye color he was born with, because he shares it with such a beautiful man and fuck, Aleks is so beautiful.

Aleks rolls his lips back and for an instant, his eyes flicker down to Brett’s lips before they return the eye contact fully and then his shoulders relax, as well as the rest of his body.

“You’re doing fine,” Brett tells him softly. “You’re just anxious because of the past few days. Remember what I told you in the club yesterday? Like, a million times?”

“To not think about it?”   


“Exactly. The more you think about it, the more you’re gonna complicate it. Just,” Brett shrugs, “let things be. One instance of uncertainty shouldn’t make you worry you’re fucking up.” He then pats Aleks’ cheek a few times before he rests it on his shoulder to give it a gentle shake. “Now here’s what’s gonna happen, I’m gonna go to the office with all my shit, and then you and Geoff can defile the house. Just promise to stay out of my bedroom.”

Aleks rolls his eyes with a small grin and takes Brett’s hand off his shoulder before he goes to the door. “Don’t want me to find the shrine you built in my honor?”

“No, I don’t want you finding the bright purple fursuit under my bed,” Brett teases as he opens the door for the both of them to walk through, and the both of them share a few jokes at the expense of furries on the way back down the stairs.

Besides, Brett keeps that shrine locked in his mind! It’s not really a shrine but rather a mental list of reasons for why he’s crushing on Aleks so much. The list was rather short before Aleks moved in but now he’s here and the list is like uh, fuck, definitely a few pages worth. Maybe like 12. 6 pages are dedicated to his chill personality and the other 6 pays homage to his good looks.

 

After wishing the couple a _very_  good rest of their day, Brett heads out to his car. He buckles his seatbelt and looks out the window into his front yard, though his eyes aren’t really fixated on anywhere in particular. The environment blurs together as he ruminates on his many thoughts about those two.

He wonders how long Geoff’s list for Aleks is and what exactly is on that (hopefully) long list. Does his heart race when Aleks laughs so hard his eyes crinkle at the ends? Does he find it hard to resist a smile when Aleks makes a bad pun? Does he ever touch Aleks and it feels like a never ending adrenaline shot taking hold of his body? Because these things are on Brett’s list and any good boyfriend of Aleks should share similar thoughts.

Brett wants him and Geoff to last. It’s obvious how happy Geoff makes Aleks in the grand scheme of things but Aleks is partly his responsibility while he’s in LA. He feels he has the responsibility to ensure that Aleks’ boyfriend is kickass and with how stressed Aleks is about their relationship already, that guy better be worth it.

* * *

 

**May 31st, 2017**

 

The 2nd CCTV podcast was uploaded today.

_ That one. _

The one where Aleks and Brett shared their first kiss.

Not just some peck on the lips either but a real passionate one, not that Aleks could forget because he was fucking weak in the knees afterwards and couldn’t stop thinking about it, not even to this very day.

Now it’s on YouTube for everyone else to see and and Aleks can actually _watch Brett kiss him._ He can watch Brett’s tongue slide along his lips before it parts them open to seek access inside his mouth and fuck, Aleks just gave it to him so easily. He didn’t think he was so accepting of the kiss but it’s obvious he was and he’s a bit embarrassed.

 

With a huff, Aleks exits out of the window. There’s a small curiosity nagging at his mind to read the comments but he’s been around YouTube long enough to have an idea of what the comment section will be like for this. Aleks kicks his leg up on the desk and peers his head over to look through the glass doors to Brett’s office, wanting to see if he was done talking to that tax lady on the phone but by the bored look on his face, he can safely assume he isn’t.

They’re the only two left in the office and Aleks would’ve left earlier if his car wasn’t a piece of fucking shit and broke down _again_  so Brett is sort of Aleks’ ride back. One of these days, Aleks needs to buy a new car, a really nice one too. If there’s anything Parks and Recreation has taught him, it’s to treat himself, especially after the tumultuous week he’s had (excluding the kiss with Brett).

In that week, Aleks has realized three things.

 

The first thing he realizes is that he’d be pretty fine with Geoff not texting him - as long as Geoff fucks him in one of the many glorious ways that he did before leaving…

_ Aleks cries out loudly as Geoff fucks him harder into the couch, his fingers desperately clawing at the couch for purchase. “Ah, fuck! Fuck, Geoff, fuck me! Fuck me!” _

_ Geoff’s breaths come out in harsh pants as he tries his best to maintain the harshness of his thrusts, his nails crushing Aleks’ shoulders in their grip as he shoves him down more into the couch so he could hit deeper. “Bet you missed this, didn’t you?” _

_ “So fucking much, babe,” Aleks whines. “I wanted your cock so bad.” _

Aleks’ body heats up, his face especially as a blush rises on his cheeks.

He had been the most submissive he ever has with a man in that day alone. He wasn’t begging to be Geoff’s sex slave or anything like that but he definitely wasn’t a power bottom that night.

_ Aleks throws his head back with a whine when Geoff keeps smacking the head of his cock against his hole and he opens his eyes to stare up at Geoff pleadingly. “Geoff-” _

_ “Ooh, I only respond to daddy at the moment. Try again, baby.” _

_ Aleks huffs through his nose and brings his hand down to his hole, sliding a finger inside to furiously fuck himself. A moan falls from his mouth at the familiar sensation of having at least something filling him again. “Daddy,” Aleks whines again. “Fuck me, daddy, please…” _

He had set that aside because he was so willing to make Geoff happy and remind him what he was missing out on...

_ Aleks moans around Geoff’s thickness and his eyes flutter back open to look up at his boyfriend, pulling off the head of his cock so he could lap at the underside of it. “Am I sucking you off good, daddy?” he asks as he presses a kiss to the head. _

_ “You always do good, babe,” Geoff assures as he runs a hand back through Aleks’ blonde hair and he smiles when Aleks does, “you know you do good.” He wraps his fingers around his shaft so he can rub the head against Aleks’ parted lips to smear it with precome. “Now get back down there, keep showing daddy how good you are.” _

… and Aleks did a tremendous job at that.

Aleks is usually the one that takes charge in the bedroom but for that day, for _Geoff,_ he was eager to just let go and allow himself to be used and he… sort of hates how fun it was? It wasn’t _oodles_  of fun, but enough to make Aleks wonder what he was missing out on for so long.

Considering the fact that he loves big, strong guys, Aleks probably should want to be on the more submissive side of things, but then he thinks about doing that with anybody else and he visibly recoils at the thought… well, almost anybody else.

 

That leads to the second thing Aleks realized - Brett has a real fucking thick dick.

Brett wasn’t hard when he changed in front of Aleks but he doesn’t fucking need to be. Aleks knew what he saw, and he knows Geoff only came by himself but Gavin must’ve been there in spirit because in the few seconds he saw Brett’s dick, they went by in fucking slow motion.

Fuck, he has such a thick dick and Aleks knows it. He saw it. He fucking felt it grinding against his ass at the club and god damn, his heart hurts. His _everything_  hurts. His ass too, but that’s because of Geoff’s own thick dick.

But from what Aleks has seen, Brett’s dick is _ thicker than Geoff’s.  _ Or it is when he’s flaccid, anyways, but who knows what it looks like at its hardest - probably thicker. It’d make sense because of how thick Brett is, like, everywhere fucking else.

Aleks thought Geoff was the thickest he had but… woah, life is just full of surprises.

Big surprises.

Like Brett’s big dick.

_ Huge. _

 

The third thing Aleks realized, the most important thing and yes, believe it or not, there is something more important than Brett’s thick cock that makes Aleks’ heart hurt and that’s his uncanny ability to take away all of Aleks’ worries with one small, feel-good speech.

Admittedly, it’s not really something he _recently_ realized but just a helpful reminder. If things end up going south with Geoff one day, and Aleks doesn’t think they will, but if they do, he finds some solace in the fact that Brett will be there to pick him back up on his feet… though he does wonder if there’s a limit to how many times Brett will do so.

Only now he wonders when Brett will get done with that tax lady so they can get home and order pizza because he’s fucking starving. He’d tell Brett to stop at Chic-Fil-A but the nearest one is a town or so over and that’d just be annoying for Brett.

_ Buzz buzz. _

 

Aleks furrows his eyebrows and reaches for his phone, his eyes widening when he sees who it is and he quickly answers it, the happiness evident in his tone. “Heeey babe, what’s up?”

“What’s up with that steamy kiss between you and Brett?” Geoff asks with a slight chuckle. “Seriously uh, that was real nice. You sure you guys haven’t done anything before?”

_ Unfortunately. _

Aleks scoffs. “Dude, he’s like my dad.”

_ More like a daddy, hahaha. Dude, stop. _

“You kiss your dad with that mouth?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m just saying, dude, there was some fucking tongue in that kiss. Felt like I was watching a romance movie for a minute. You and him have great chemistry.”

“Me and James have great chemistry too, should I fuck him?”

“Of course,” Geoff says casually. “Just as long as you tell me first before you do it.”

“... I gotta tell you first?”

“Yeah, we gotta be honest with each other, right?”

Aleks swallows and thins his lips as he looks down to the desk. His fingers drum quickly against the smooth wooden top in tune to his heartbeat that’s rapidly picking up pace in an effort to run away from the haunting monster created by fear and anxiety. He opens his mouth to tell the truth but his lips start quivering and instead, he bites down hard on the bottom to keep them still.

What results are long moments of silence and Aleks can feel the awkwardness in the air. He wants to squander it anyway he can, but the monster caught him, sunk his claws into his shoulders and pinned Aleks to freeze him in place. 

_ Oh my god, I’m so fucked. _

 

“... hey uh, Aleks, you haven’t…” Geoff chuckles nervously.“... uh, you haven’t fucked anybody else, have you?”

Aleks wants to move but it’s seemingly impossible to do so. In the distance, he can see a reaper coming to take him away to his death and he takes off the black hood to reveal that he’s Geoff. When Aleks snaps his head to look into the monster’s eyes and face death head on, the face shifts into Bruce. He is frozen once again and he wants to scream for help, he does, but alas, there was nobody there.

Geoff clears his throat and takes a deep breath. “Aleks,” he says firmly, “did you fuck anybody?”

The monster suddenly disappears and once Aleks feels that heavy weight lifted off him, he takes a deep breath and says the first words he can think of, now that he’s been given the gift of speech again. “I-It’s an open relationship, I thought-”

“Oh my god, you already fucked someone?” Geoff asks with exasperation. “We started dating like… god, not even a full month, dude.”

“Geoff, _babe,_ it’s an open relationship-”

“You said that already but that’s not the point, Aleks,” Geoff chuckles bitterly and groans right right afterwards.  “Jesus, _you didn’t even tell me._ When did it happen?”

He still doesn’t get it. It’s open. They can fuck whoever. Aleks didn’t know he was supposed to tell Geoff, he just assumed that his boyfriend would be fine with it! Why did Geoff expect Aleks to know all the rules? All Geoff said was that any connection they had with somebody else should be strictly sexual - and it was! What’s the problem?

Aleks doesn’t even wanna tell Geoff when it happened but he’s kind of at a dead end here. Geoff’s only going to be pissed if Aleks doesn’t tell him so Aleks relents with a sigh and says, “about a week ago.”

“... wait, did this happen _when_  I was in LA?”

He doesn’t respond for a few seconds because he already dreads telling Geoff more of the truth, but that’s enough Geoff needs to know to confirm that it did happen.

“I fucking… oh my god,” Geoff sighs and leans his head back against the couch. “Did you at least make him or her or whoever wear protection?”

Aleks frowns. “Yeah. What, do you think I’d be too stupid to forget that?”

_“No,_ no, that’s not at all what I said, I just wanted some peace in mind because my boyfriend fucked another guy when I was right fucking there in LA-”

“Hold on, stop,” Aleks starts laughing and he shakes his head, holding up a finger like Geoff can see it. “Don’t even say that, dude, like, you might’ve been in LA but you were fucking busy the whole time. I couldn’t talk to you in person or even get a text back from you so what choice did I even have?”

“I was busy and you _knew_  I was busy. You _knew_  it would take me awhile to get back to you!  You should’ve waited!”

“And how long would that have taken, like, a few days?”

“Maybe so, but that’s just what happens. You can’t necessarily fuck whenever you damn well please.”

“I wanted to have sex and you weren’t there. It was an open relationship, so I had sex - what’s the big deal?”

“Because _you didn’t **fucking**  tell me,_ Aleks!” Geoff’s voice raises and it visibly makes Aleks flinch and recoil. “I know it’s an open relationship but it’s supposed to be about trust and honesty, so I need to know if you’re going to fuck somebody else. And if you wanna fuck them while I’m in town, cool, go ahead!” he exclaims in an oddly cheerful tone, which serves to make his obvious anger that much more frightening. “But _tell me.”_

Aleks swallows and swings his leg off from the desk. His legs press together tightly as his whole body closes in on itself to look as small as he feels right now.

Geoff is such a chill dude so to hear him get mad like this and scold Aleks like he’s a kid that doesn’t know right from wrong really makes Aleks feel ashamed for what he did. He wanted to justify it and at first, he firmly believed he was right but now he’s having second thoughts.

 

Aleks nibbles at his bottom lip and pushes his chair closer to the desk, letting go of his lip to exhale a shuddering breath. “G-Geoff, I didn’t know-”

“We probably shouldn’t talk right now,” Geoff interrupts. “I… I just don’t wanna say something I shouldn’t and I don’t want you to dig yourself into a deeper hole-”

“Geoff-”

“I know you didn’t know,” he says softly. “But I’m still… let’s just hang up, not talk for a few days so we can cool off, and then we’ll talk about it again when we’re more calm. Okay?”

Aleks’ eyes widen and he shakes his head, clutching the phone tighter in his grip. “No, Geoff, please, I’m sorry-”

“Aleks,” Geoff says in that firm tone of his again, but this time he says it in a way that leaves no room for Aleks to successfully argue. “I’ll call you in a few days. We’ll talk then. Try to enjoy the rest of your night.”

“What? Geoff, come on-”

_ Click. _

Aleks blinks a few times and furrows his eyebrows together. “Geoff?” he asks softly. “Geoff?” he asks again, this time a bit louder.

_ He really hung up on me. _

Aleks and stares down at the home screen to his phone. The gadget trembles in his shaking fingers before Aleks allows it to slides off onto the desk with a quiet _clack._

His eyes screw tightly shut and he leans over his desk. The front of his palms press against his eyelids while he takes slow breaths, in and out, in an attempt to calm his nerves. His nerves are like a race horse, stomping through the track and running on all cylinders as its rider demands more and more. It’s overwhelming and Aleks wants his whole body to slow down but then he wants the days to go fast so Geoff can call him again, Aleks can tell him how much he fucked up, and then they’ll go back to normal.

It’ll be simple again. Because it _was_  simple before, wasn’t it?

The impromptu meditation session is interrupted when Aleks hears Brett whistling nearby and he tilts his head enough to cast Brett a side glance and look him up and down, like he’ll have an answer...

… or maybe he shouldn’t bother Brett with it. Brett says he’s never going to tire of giving Aleks reassurance but Aleks doesn’t want him to think that’s all he’s good for.

 

Brett makes eye contact immediately and gives Aleks a thumbs up but then his eyes scan Aleks’ face, his closed body language, and his thumbs up begins to falter. Brett’s eyebrows furrow, his arms cross over his chest, and as he cocks his hip to one side, he asks “are you good, dude?”

_ No. _

“Yeah,” Aleks answers. “Just tired,” he yawns and swipes his phone from the desk, standing up before he shoves it into the pocket of his jeans. “Ready to go?”

Brett’s tongue pokes around in his cheek and he looks Aleks up and down, taking in a deep breath before he presses his lips together and averts his gaze. “Yeah. Got all that boring adult shit over and done with. You wanna stop somewhere on the way home? Maybe like uh… Chic-Fil-A? Isn’t that your favorite?”

“Yeah, but that’s so out of the way-”

“Nah.” Brett shakes his head as he walks over to Aleks to wrap an arm around his shoulder before he leads him away from his desk. “Come on, bud, let’s get you some Chic-Fil-A. My treat.”

Aleks looks up to Brett for a brief moment before he looks back down. He drops his head onto his shoulder and allows Brett’s cologne to waft through his senses and put him in a tranquil state. He smells like cinnamon vanilla and he detects a hint of his fabric softener as the underlying scent. He’s not sure what that is but whatever it is, it puts him more at ease.

Aleks knows that Brett knows that something is up but Brett, thankfully, doesn’t ask him about it and the only reason Brett doesn’t ask is because he wants to take Aleks’ mind off it for tonight. It’s a silent understanding - no words need to be said.

The comfortable silence follows them out of the warehouse and into the mostly empty lot. The stars are twinkling bright in the dark night sky and the sounds of crickets can be heard along with the vrooms of rushing cars in the street. These otherwise annoying noises are the start of a much needed distraction from Aleks’ thoughts about Geoff and the roaring engine of Brett’s car is the next distraction added to the list.

The biggest notch on this list of distractions, the one that really helps in taking Aleks’ mind off it, is when he looks over to Brett’s face and notices the light casting off the side. It lights up his features; sweet brown eyes, finely manicured stubble, and his slightly full cheeks, even though he has such strong facial features otherwise but that’s just one of the unique things about Brett, one of the _many_  unique things about him that makes Aleks remember why he crushed so hard in the first place.

One of the reasons he started crushing on Brett was because he always felt so calm around him. Right now is no different and as Brett continues to drive, Aleks relaxes completely in his seat, closes his eyes, and drifts off into sleep that he didn’t know he needed until this moment. Geoff is not even a parting thought in his mind.

 

Brett looks over to the sleeping boy and he can’t help the fond smile that graces his face. When he stops at a red light, he brings his hand over to run it back through Aleks’ blonde strands in a soothing manner. Brett cups Aleks’ cheek with a sigh and watches as his lips part open.

“You’re going to be okay, Aleks,” Brett whispers as his thumb strokes along his cheek. “I promise.”


	13. Code Breaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks thinks he and Geoff are totally fine. Brett thinks he and Geoff are totally NOT fine. They sort of clash over it but ultimately, one of them ends up agreeing with the other.

**** **June 3rd, 2017**

 

Brett decides to take a quick stroll through the Cow Chop subreddit to see what the fans are saying about them this week.

Did they enjoy the newest video?  Is there any new fanart that deserves a spotlight? Will anybody be comparing them to the Creatures? Like always, the answer to these three questions are a resounding yes but there are quite a number of threads made in the past few days discussing a certain something that happened on the 2nd CCTV podcast uploaded a few days ago…

 

_ “[IMAGE] Aleks/Brett Kiss” _

_ “[MEME] Friendship ended with NovaHD, Now HundarHD is my best friend” _

_ “[DISCUSSION] Is Cow Chop selling out for the slash fangirls?” _

 

And that’s only the beginning! Brett figured their kiss would gain some traction but it’s uh, really become a hot topic, especially on Tumblr because it has completely saturated the Cow Chop tag. There are gifs upon endless gifs made of their kiss, some screencaps, some fanart, some uh… fanfiction, every single content you can think of is being made of _this_  kiss.

By the 789th time he sees a gif of them kissing, Brett has it ingrained in his head - which isn’t exactly a bad thing, mind you. In fact, it almost becomes funny how he just pushes his tongue into Aleks’ mouth and Aleks doesn’t even hesitate to return it.

What stops it from crossing the line into humorous territory is that it’s still a hot kiss that Brett wants to revisit, to relive every moment of until he’s sick of it. He keeps scrolling, keeps seeing it over and over, and his heart races like it did when their lips first touched.

Not that Aleks can know that.

Ever.

 

Brett picks up his laptop from the dining table and forces out a chuckle as he steps into the living room, where Aleks is currently sat on the couch playing Fallout 4. “Hey so uh, I went on our subreddit and Tumblr tag, right? Dude, there’s gifs of our kiss _everywhere,_ I didn’t even think I went so hard. We have a ship name and everything now, it’s like… HundarHD, pretty sure. Think we’ll beat out you and James one day?” he asks as he looks up to his friend, who’s staring ahead at the screen with a blank look on his face but through the supposed blankness, he can see and feel Aleks’ less than chipper despondent.

Aleks has been upset about something for a few days and Brett figured Aleks would tell him on his own but it seems like he’s bottling it up for whatever reason. He does know that Brett is there to help him with anything, right? Hopefully he just hasn’t told Brett because Geoff is there to talk with him instead, which is good if that’s the case but it doesn’t seem like those possible talks are helping any.

“Uh, Aleks?” Brett raises his eyebrows. “You good?”

Aleks purses his lips to the side and looks down to his controller. He gently taps his thumb back and forth against the pause button, but then he just looks back up to his screen to continue the game like before.

_ Commence Operation Cheer Up Aleks! _

Brett turns around to go back into the kitchen. He sets his laptop on the table before he makes his way to the pantry to take out a box of blueberry PopTarts, Aleks’ favorite. The treats are freed from their wrappers before he sets them on a plate in the microwave and he makes his way back into the living room once they’re done to plop a seat beside Aleks.

Aleks pauses the game when Brett wraps an arm around him and he looks to the hand on his shoulder before he turns his head to cast Brett a side glance.

Brett smiles and kicks a leg up on the table, offering the plate of blueberry PopTarts to Aleks with a very sweet, “for you.”

Aleks looks to the plate as he sets his controller to the side. He grabs the plate with trepidation while he takes the pastry from it with the other hand. “Is there a catch?” he asks.

“You tell me what’s been bothering you the past few days,” Brett says. “I’ve been knowing that something was up but I figured you’d come to me about it eventually.”

“It’s nothing,” Aleks says as he bites into the pastry, relaxing back into Brett’s arm. “Really.”

“If it was nothing, you’d be over it by now,” Brett argues, looking back over to Aleks. “What’s wrong, dude? You know you can’t hide things from me.”

Huffing through his nose, Aleks continues to chew on his treat while he looks off to the side in thought. Brett pulls Aleks just a bit closer into his side before he raises the hand on Aleks’ shoulder to gently coax Aleks’ head onto his own and Aleks lays his head there with no difficulty.

Brett knows that Aleks is going to tell him now that he insists on it but he’s going to give Aleks the time to think over his words. While he does that, Brett is just going to look down and admire the gorgeous sight on his shoulder.

Newly bleached hair rests upon naturally pale skin and it’s about the only feature of Aleks he can see in his immediate vision but Brett doesn’t need to see the rest. This is more than fine.

He can see Aleks’ teeth working away at the PopTart and the very quiet noises of approval he makes when he swallows some down and they might be tiny moments of joy but it’s better than what Brett saw from him earlier. If he can do anything for Aleks, even help with these tiny moments, Brett will do it without a thought.

 

Aleks sets the plate of PopTarts back onto the table and rests a hand on top of his lap, covered by a black plush blanket. “So like…” Aleks licks along his lips, “... let’s say you’re in an open relationship-”

“You and Geoff?” Brett asks.

**_Again?_ **

Aleks sighs. “Yeah, me and him kinda… we kinda like, argued the other day and he hasn’t talked to me since then. He told me he’d talk to me about it when he’s calmed down but like… it still makes me anxious and shit, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely. So… you’re in this open relationship. You guys argued. Did the open relationship have anything to do with it?”

“A lot,” Aleks laughs bitterly. “Like, a whole lot.”

“How so?”

“Remember when I slept with Bruce?”

_ Every single thing about it. _

“Mmhm. You said Geoff wouldn’t mind.”

“Turns out he did.” Aleks presses his lips together and sighs through his nose. “He minded a lot, dude… didn’t know I had to tell him I was gonna fuck Bruce.”

Brett rolls his lips back and looks up at the ceiling, trying his best to delicately put together the words to tell Aleks that he actually sees where Geoff is coming from - mostly because he would ask for the same thing in his position. Open relationships work because you can trust each other, and if you don’t tell the other person you’re fucking somebody, that’s a small invasion of it. That’s what Brett thinks, anyways.

But if he were dating Aleks, it wouldn’t be an open relationship. He would be 100% committed and he’d expect the same. Why would he even think about fucking anybody else when Aleks is right there?

He can’t put together the right words at the moment so he decides to bide time by slightly averting what Aleks said. “Didn’t you uh, tell me you guys discussed boundaries?” Brett asks. “Did he include the fact you had to tell him?”

If they thoroughly discussed boundaries, then he can understand Geoff’s annoyance but if they only stuck their toe into those waters, Brett doesn’t think Aleks should be at fault. It’s a very tricky situation, a shades of gray situation - not absolutes of black and white.

“I mean… I guess we didn’t.” Aleks sits up with a shrug and his shoulder presses against Brett’s. “He just basically told me we can fuck whoever and I just went with it. I thought it’d be simple…” He swallows and rolls his lips back, glancing over to Brett before he looks up to the ceiling as well. “I… I thought _us_  would be simple.”

Brett looks down from the ceiling to see Aleks’ head resting back against the couch, his chest slowly rising up and down. He can see a lot more than Aleks’ hair now, like his wandering eyes that are desperately seeking some sort of comfort from anything in this room, the teeth that worry against his bottom lip, and his own eyes wander down to see Aleks’ fingers twiddling around each other.

He said that he thought his and Geoff’s relationship would be simple. So far, it seems like the opposite.

Aleks went into this relationship rather quick and Brett can’t help but feel like he might’ve played a part in that by telling Aleks how great they would be together. In that sense… maybe he should tell Aleks that they’re not as great as he once thought.

 

“Hey, Brett?” Aleks asks.

“What’s up, bud?”

“Do you think me and Geoff rushed into it?”

_ Great minds think alike. _

Brett opens his mouth, wants to tell Aleks that they did, because they did, but what if he’s looking for Brett to tell him otherwise? To reassure him that they’re fine? But Brett hasn’t lied to him about his relationship with Geoff so far. He’s not going to change that now.

So he relaxes, looks into Aleks’ eyes when Aleks looks back to him, and the side of his lips quirk into an almost sad smile as he asks, “you want me to tell you the truth?”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Honestly? Yeah… but it’s not my place to decide,” Brett tells him. “This is your life, Aleks, and I can’t tell you what to do. I can give you advice, I can tell you my opinion, but at the end of the day, it’s up to you. If you think you guys rushed it, what do you wanna do about it? You tell me.”

Brett’s always happy to give Aleks the reassurance whenever he needs it. That’ll never stop, but Aleks is smart. He’s capable of coming to these decisions on his own and when he moves out, whenever that happens, Brett won’t be there to reassure him. He’d like to but he can’t. Aleks needs the tools to figure some of these things out himself.

“Geoff’s cool,” Aleks says. “And I like talking to him. I _really_  like the sex with him,” he chuckles and bites at his lip. “And-”

“You sure you’re not confusing some really awesome dick with love?” Brett asks with a chuckle of his own.

“I don’t _love_  him.” Aleks rolls his eyes. “I just like him… I’m pretty sure. I mean, I liked him enough where I wanted to explore like, what it might be like to date him.”

“And how is that going so far?”

Humming lowly in discontent, Aleks rolls his head back onto Brett’s shoulders and looks down to his hands. “Solid… 5 out of 10.”

Brett hisses. “Ooh. Feel it should be more than that.”

Aleks’ tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek and he looks over to his plate of PopTarts. With a huff, he grabs one to take a bite and sets it back down before he grabs his phone. “Yeah. I need to just… slow things down with him. We should keep it casual.”

“So you’re gonna dump him?”

“I'm just gonna… demote the relationship,” Aleks says. “Don’t wanna drag it-”

_ Buzz buzz. _

Aleks and Brett see the name on Aleks’ phone and their eyes mirror each other in their widened surprise. Aleks glances to Brett and Brett just shrugs his shoulders and holds up a hand, as if to say  _ “don’t look at me!” _ before motioning to Aleks’ phone with that hand.

Aleks blows out a breath and reads over the name on his screen, willing for it to change but it still stays the same.

_ Geoff. _

“Gotta answer it, dude,” Brett advises.

“Will you stay in here with me?” Aleks asks as he sits up again, keeping his side pressed into Brett’s.

Brett would really rather not witness them break up but if Aleks wants him to stay… well, how can he say no to him? It’s not like he has a choice because Aleks’ warmth is comforting and he doesn’t wanna pull himself away from that. It’d be like trying to leave the bed when a cute kitten is perched on your lap - downright impossible.

Aleks smiles at Brett’s nod and then he looks back to his phone. He takes a few breaths to hype himself up before he accepts the call and places it to his ear. “Hello… hey, babe…”

Not once during their entire exchange has Brett’s arm left Aleks’ shoulder and he should probably take it off at some point but Aleks doesn’t seem uncomfortable. He’s been keeping their bodies close together, making some sort of contact, and Brett thinks Aleks would’ve recoiled to the other side of the couch if Brett was really being too touchy.

That’s just the kind of person Brett is though. He likes to be physical in his affections, friendly or romantic, but he admittedly does this to Aleks in a mixture of the two pretenses. Surprisingly, it’s more of the former.

 

“Yeah uh, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in those few days without each other,” Aleks sighs. “We really need to talk about something important.”

“Absolutely,” Geoff says. “Do you mind if I go first though?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. I mean, I don’t mind. What’s on your mind?”

“I’m just fucking sorry,” Geoff sighs. “Like… I’m real fucking sorry. I was being a dick.”

“What?” Aleks shakes his head. “What are you sorry for? I was in the wrong.”

“But I was too. Uh, I was talking with Gavin about it and he kinda made me see where I went wrong. I was being harsh and it’s kind of my fault because I didn’t really discuss boundaries with you and I just assumed. We uh,” Geoff chuckles, “went into things so fast, you know?”

Aleks shakes his head and sits up on the couch. “No, I don’t feel like we went into it too fast.”

Brett does a double take before he furrows his eyebrows at the younger man and he stares at him like he suddenly grew two heads. After that, Brett sort of takes himself out of the majority of the conversation.

_ He just… we were just… WHY ARE YOU LYING TO HIM? _

“What did I wanna tell you? Uh, um, I was just gonna… gonna uh, call and apologize too. Great minds think alike, right?” Aleks chuckles.

_ NO! NO, YOU WEREN’T! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? _

Brett can’t even sit here and listen to this anymore, not even for Aleks’ sake. Aleks just needed him so he could bear the bad news to Geoff and have somebody there literally by his side afterwards but he didn’t do that at all! He fucking faced the original option and gave it the middle finger as he walked backwards to the complete opposite! He’s acting like everything is fucking fine between them, like he seriously wasn’t just about to _break up with him._

_ What the fuck even was the point of telling Aleks all that? _

With a tremendous eye roll, he stands up from the couch to go back to the dining table so he can continue traversing through the various cesspools of social media on his laptop. That nonsense is easier for Brett to deal with.

Aleks will be the death of Brett one day and it’s because he drives Brett crazy. Brett just wishes it was the sexy kind right now.

_ WHY? Why do I still like him so damn much?! _

 

“... okay, I’ll call you again tonight,” Aleks tells Geoff with a smile. “It was good to hear your voice again. I’ll talk to you later, babe.”

_ He’s so frustrating sometimes, like, why can’t he just grow up a little bit more, ughhh. _

Aleks ends the call and then he sets the phone on the table before he looks over to Brett. He crosses his arms over his chest as he stands up from the couch. “Yo, Brett.”

_ I know he’s like, 24, so he’s already a full grown adult but I swear, dealing with him is like dealing with a teenager sometimes. _

Aleks huffs through his nose and narrows his eyes, walking over to the table. “Brett?” he repeats with a louder voice.

_ But what would that say about me? Why are people like him like… MY type? Why- _

“Brett!” Aleks exclaims as he slams his hands down on the table and it finally manages to catch Brett’s attention.

“Oh fuck, what?” Brett asks, his eyes flickering up to Aleks before he looks down to the screen of his laptop. “What do you want?”

“Bro, you left.”

“Yeah, you just needed me to support you when you dumped Geoff but then you like, did the complete opposite so what point is there?” Brett rattles off as he switches a tab. “What was that all about?”

Aleks cocks his head and raises an eyebrow. “What was what all about?”

“What happened to you telling Geoff you were gonna take it slow?” Brett asks with a humorless chuckle. “But everything’s better now that he… apologized? Did he apologize?”

“Yeah, he said Gavin made him realize he was harsh-”

“Ahhh, Gavin again.”

Brett can admit that it’s pretty good of Gavin to take Aleks’ side, not that he’ll tell Aleks that. He doesn’t want Aleks to think he approves of him side stepping the actual issue at hand and he’s going to let him know about it whether he likes it or not. Brett won’t directly call Aleks a dumbass but he can throw in a few hints.

 

Aleks rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling with a sigh. “You said there was nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, of course. That hasn’t changed, but do you really think that _you_  changed from wanting to take it slow to keeping things as they are _that_ quick?”

Aleks rolls his lips back and looks off to the side before his gaze drops to the floor. “Uh… I mean, I was just overthinking it before. About us. I was-”

“Whatever, don’t gotta explain your relationship to me,” Brett mumbles as he picks up his laptop before walking around the table. “Not like what I say is gonna matter, so-”

“What the fuck are you talking about, bro?” Aleks laughs nervously and follows after Brett when he makes his way towards the stairs.

“I told you what you needed to do, you said you were gonna do it, but you did your own thing. It’s fine.” Brett shrugs. “Like I said, I can’t tell you how to live your life. You gotta do this on your own. You’re an adult, you make your own decisions-”

“I _was_  going to do it, but then he called me and we talked and-”

“And just like that, your relationship with him is going to be fine? Your mind has _suddenly_ changed?”

“Yeah!”

Brett rolls his eyes and gives Aleks a thumbs up right before he opens the door to his bedroom. “Okay, whatever you say, Aleks.”

Aleks clenches his jaw and stares right into Brett’s back, breathing in deeply to calm his nerves before he allows himself to speak. “You said I’m an adult that can make my own decisions. It’s _my_   _life,”_ Aleks says as he steps away from the door. “You don’t get a say.” And then he walks right back the other way to head down the stairs before he can listen to Brett anymore.

“I’m well aware,” Brett tells him as he sets his laptop down on the bed before he grabs the charger cord to it. “And if you wanna make a decision, no matter how good or how _very bad_ , that’s cool.” He then looks up to the door. “Just-” He stops when he sees that nobody is there and it’s just him, alone in his bedroom.

Brett slams his eyes shut and rubs at his temples, groaning to himself before he falls back onto his bed.

 

Brett doesn’t even have to see Aleks right now to know that he didn’t like what he said but it’s just the truth! It’s a hard truth but he should know that he can’t keep putting off the inevitable, acting like everything is hunky dory between them. Is Brett wrong for wanting to be honest with Aleks? Aleks wanted him to be honest in the first place and then he was and now it’s… a bad thing?

With a huff, he opens his eyes to look up at the ceiling as he continues to gather his thoughts, all which go back to Aleks.

Brett can only hope that Aleks will apologize to him a few hours from now and see where he’s coming from. He doesn’t really wanna be around a friend who’s looking to staple his mouth shut at the moment… but he and Aleks don’t ever argue! They have disagreements here and there, like any pair of friends do, but they’re civil enough to work through it.

_ It’ll be fine. He’s going to come crawling back here soon... _

* * *

 

**June 6th, 2017**

 

Aleks and Brett haven’t spoke of their disagreement since it happened and there have been no apologies from either side. They’re not clawing at each other’s throats and they’re still laughing and talking like they usually do but there’s a big ass elephant in the room that’s visible to only them and that elephant’s name is _Geoff Ramsey._

It’s funny how Brett is lambasting Aleks for acting like everything is fine with Geoff when he is currently acting like everything is fine with Aleks. Life’s kind of funny that way. Life also has a way of working itself out because it decided that today was the day all that tension between him and Aleks makes itself apparent and it did so in the 4th CCTV podcast.

Their tension has manifested in passive aggressive comments, both at home and at work, and everybody has been made well aware of it. It’s sort of played into the weirdness of today’s CCTV.

It’s been a weird episode already, with everybody travelling between a plethora of different locations in downtown LA, spanning from the subway, to the streets, to the Scientology center, and now it’s ending in a Uber ride back to Brett’s car. The conversations have been all over the place, just like the camera men, and the frustration has been steadily building up inside Brett. After 48 minutes of this, Brett is about a hair away from blowing up on everybody.

Then there’s Aleks, who’s doing relatively fine… or he was, but he can feel the irritation from Brett radiating onto him now that they’re pressed up together in an Uber. Or maybe that’s just his natural body heat… ooh, he’s so warm! But so _infuriating_  all at the same time.

Why can’t he just let Aleks _live,_ you know? How does he know how Aleks really feels about Geoff anyways? Like he can read minds or some shit? Maybe if Brett knew how to read minds, he would know that Aleks is wondering why the fuck they’re not going back to Union Station for his car and he wouldn’t have had to correct himself to the driver.

 

“Yeah, I forgot we parked at Union Station. Can we go there instead?” Brett asks. “I’m sorry… yes, thank you. Again, sorry.”

“See, this is the thing with getting older,” Aleks says. “It seems like you just… I dunno, it’s just not all there.”

“You like older men anyways so why are you coming at me for it?” Brett asks. “Here’s the thing, Aleks, the one thing that I mess up per week is nothing whereas you forget like 400 conversations. You’re only, what, 24? What’s your excuse?”

Aleks stares ahead blankly through his raybans. “Okay, well, that’s like 400 out of twenty fucking thousand conversations and there’s a lot going on with my life too-”

“Alright, there’s a lot going on in my life,” Brett chuckles. “I think my retention rate is much higher than yours. My ability to process information and not just toss it aside whenever it does and does not suit me, is also higher than yours.”

This, for example, is one of those passive aggressive comments.

“I feel like Brett doesn’t remember small things sometimes,” Trevor adds unhelpfully. “Like those batteries.”

“Yeah, because I have to do everything,” Brett argues.

“He also forgets to buy small things sometimes,” Aleks says as he hops onto Trevor’s unhelpful bandwagon. “Like the purple conditioner I asked for-”

“And you didn’t even fucking remember you needed that until you had to take a shower,” Brett laughs bitterly and claps his hands together as he looks up to the car ceiling. “Yet another instance of you forgetting shit.”

“And when I went with you to the store the next day and you forgot about like, a million other things on the list-”

“I didn’t forget those things, I just didn’t think they were necessary. Let’s see, stock up on water bottles and the other basic essentials to life or do we absolutely need these brownies?”

“Oh uh, don’t wanna add on,” James coughs and scratches the back of his neck, “but Brett forgot when our Amazon Prime was shooting.”

Brett does a double take as he looks back and forth between James and Aleks. “You two forgot, I was just trying to make sure-”

Aleks cuts him off to say, “but that’s not what happened”, and Brett hums lowly in discontent as he adjusts the bill of his hat before he looks into the camera.

“Okay, listen here, I do  **_ninety fucking five percent_ **  of the planning and business while these _fucking turds **fuck off**_  so I don’t even wanna _hear_  it,” Brett chuckles. “If you actually wanna piss me off, I’ll get mad on this podcast - I’ll do it. Cause it’s not even fucking _funny.”_

Everybody in the car is smiling now but they are all tight and uncomfortable and they all desperately wish to change topics to avoid aggravating Brett further - especially Aleks, who has to deal with sitting next to him _and_  going home with him at the end of the work day. He just thought he was being playful in teasing Brett but uh… wow, Brett took it real serious.

There’s a lot of reasons Aleks crushed on Brett so long ago. His tendency to get defensive, however, is not one of those reasons. Aleks didn’t break into a sweat when Brett said he had a higher retention rate so why is Brett going off so hard?

Deep down, a part of Aleks knows that Brett is justified, especially when a group of people are teasing him at the same time, but he’s still upset about what Brett told him in regards to his relationship with Geoff so he just casts that aside.

 

The CCTV happened earlier in the day though and now Aleks and Brett are at home. After Brett’s brief explosion, he was back to being as sweet as ever so everything is truly fine now, right? Well…

“Dude, we were just joking around with you!” Aleks tells him. “Why did you get so defensive?”

“If those were jokes, those were the shittiest fucking jokes on this planet,” Brett chuckles.  “And every single one of them were annoying as hell.”

… things are still tense.

 

“Bro, we tease each other like this all the time,” Aleks points out as he leans back on the dining table that he’s sat on. “Why the fuck is today different?”

“Okay, you ever just like…” Brett brings his hands together in front of his mouth as he looks up to the ceiling in thought before he brings his clasped hands down over his chest, “... you ever have one of those days? Everything is just building up and that one little thing is just the last straw? That’s what it was.”

“I’ve been with you all day, what the fuck happened before the podcast?”

“It was the days leading up to it-”

“What the fuck happened then?!”

“You and Geoff!” Brett laughs loudly and presses his hands to his temples. “Oh my god, you two have been driving me crazy!”

The sound of the elephant’s cage being opened and the elephant is quickly storming along the wooden floors of their home. It has trampled Aleks and Brett in its path so now they have to acknowledge its presence.

“Seriously?” Aleks asks with a big smile, but no traces of merriment can be found - it’s quite the opposite. “You’re fucking mad because I didn’t agree with you about us going too fast, that’s the only reason-”

“You agreed with me on it! You were the one that brought it up, you _dingus!”_

“And I changed my mind, you _dick!”_ Aleks exclaims as he hops off the dining table.

“That’s not how the fuck it works, dude, holy shit, you _can not_  go from wanting to break up with somebody to suddenly saying that everything is fine. You’re lying to yourself.”

“You don’t know what the fuck is going on with our relationship, how would you know how I feel?” Aleks demands as he steps up to Brett. “You-”

“Because you’ve been complaining to me about him nonstop! It’s always something with Geoff, like  _ ‘Breeett, he’s not texting me back’ _ and _ ‘Breeett, what if something’s going on with him and Gavin?’  _ ” Brett says in a mocking higher pitched tone before he returns to his normal tone of voice. “Like, I’ve heard more negative things about it so far than positive. Even now when everything is fine, you keep worrying about these little things with Geoff, agonizing over your texts and your calls. You think it’s fine but it’s not. ”

Aleks swallows and rolls his lips back between his teeth, looking down between them as he takes a deep breath to steady his racing anger. His anger is slowing down enough for feelings of doubt to surround it completely, crushing it until the anger bleeds out. Brett continues on as Aleks thinks, tries to put together the right words to tell Brett that he’s wrong and it takes longer than it should but maybe it wouldn’t take so long if Brett really _was_ wrong.

“You asked me for the truth and I’m telling you it,” Brett says quietly. “But you can’t use the truth when it suits you. If I tell you what I think, what the truth is, and it happens to be what you think or it makes you feel better, you go along with it but when it doesn’t match up, you think I’m trying to sabotage it, and Aleks, I _want_  you to be happy but when you ask me what I think, I’m going to tell you the truth - and you might not like what you’re gonna hear.”

Aleks takes a few steps back to lean against the table and his eyes stay fixated on the floor. He feels like a child with the way Brett is talking to him right now but then, that’s just an indicator of their platonic, almost familial relationship.

“You can’t think everything is fine just because he apologized,” Brett tells him with a soft voice. “It’s definitely nice but it’s not going to change the fact that you guys went into this too fast. It’s not gonna change your anxiety about the relationship…” He huffs through his nose and steps forward to Aleks, resting a hand on his shoulder and ducking his head so he can try to look into Aleks’ eyes. “It doesn’t mean you two aren’t right for each other but right now? It’s best to take it slow and really think about what you want from him.”

Brett is telling Aleks the cold, hard truth but his hand is a warm, soft weight that helps put Aleks at ease. He doesn’t wanna take the weight off and he wants it to stay there, even wants more of it, but then Brett’s words from their tense conversation a few days ago rings in his mind…

_ “You gotta do this on your own.” _

… so even though Aleks wants to stay like this with Brett, even though he doesn’t want Brett to leave him alone, there are some things he needs to do on his own. Brett can’t always be by his side.

 

Aleks grabs Brett’s hand and takes it off his shoulder, already lamenting the loss of it but it’s necessary. In an attempt to make up for it, he gives it a small squeeze and it sort of helps - there’s a lasting impression Brett’s hand leaves on his own and it goes away after a few seconds but those seconds was all Aleks needed.

“I gotta go,” Aleks says quietly as he grabs his phone from the table to shove into his pants.

“Uh, where are you going?” Brett asks as he watches Aleks make his way to the front door. “Aleks?”

“I’ll be fine,” Aleks tells him as he opens the door, stopping at the doorway to look back at Brett. “I just need to be on my own for a little bit. I’ll be back.”

Before he can hear Brett’s answer, Aleks is already walking down the sidewalk and towards his destination.

* * *

 

 

Echo Park Lake isn’t too far.

It’s a few blocks away but Aleks uses that time in his walk to think of what he wants to say, how exactly to say it, when in his rambling _to_  say it, he thinks of every single thing, down to the pauses. By the time he makes it inside the park, Aleks knows exactly what he wants to say and it should make it easier but it doesn’t. He’s still ending a part of his life and it hasn’t even been a full month but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t significant, not in the slightest.

The moon is a bright white glow in the dark night sky, pontificated by splatterings of stars. The sky reflects off the water and Aleks can barely see his tired expression in it as he walks past. A geyser of water rushes from the spout at the far end of the lake and it’s a strangely calming sound that resonates in Aleks’ ears, makes him look towards that way like it’ll completely squander his nerves and it doesn’t but it sure is beautiful to watch the geyser rise into the sky.

It really is magnificent here at Echo Park during the night. There’s nobody else here, Aleks and his thoughts serving as the only visitors. There are, surprisingly, no cars rushing through the streets nearby either. One or two drive by but they’re going slow and Aleks doesn’t even notice. For a city as exciting as Los Angeles is, this park is the exact opposite and it’s just what Aleks needs.

 

Taking a seat on the bench, he pulls out his phone to open his most recent messages with Geoff. He stares intently at the green call button after opening his contact, the words he tried so hard to think about on the way here suddenly being thrown into the lake without his consent. He scavenges most of them quite quick, thank god, but he’s still worried as to what will happen afterwards.

But it’s like Brett said… he needs to tell the truth, and sometimes it’s not an easy pill to swallow. That’s a fact that applies to everybody and nobody is immune. Even as an adult, Aleks has to tell himself that. He doesn’t want to be the bearer of bad news but if it’s not him, who else? It’s a necessary evil.

Aleks breathes in deeply and looks up into the stars as he calls his boyfriend, his fingers drumming against his thigh rather hastily as it follows a crazed rhythm. When he hears Geoff’s voice on the other line, his fingers press into his thighs and he ducks his head to look down and ahead at the water in front.

 

“What’s up, babe?” Geoff asks.

A shuddering breath parts open Aleks’ lips, quivering as they try to find the words he managed to lose again but they haven’t traveled far.

“Are you okay?” Geoff goes on to ask. “Aleks-”

“We need to talk. About us.”


	14. Mystical In The Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a few minutes, Brett forgets how to be professional in a pretty tempting situation with a pretty drunk Aleks at the Splash House pool party and those few minutes are enough to make Brett question how he's going about his crush on Aleks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

****Brett’s starting to get concerned after not hearing from Aleks for about an hour. He gets in his car to actively go look for him and where he is, Brett has no idea, but he resigned himself to driving all around their general vicinity and he’s fine with doing so. He had to know where Aleks was and it was killing him not to have even a suspicion but thankfully for him, Aleks sends him a few important texts during the middle of his search.

 

 **[Aleks]** Can you come pick me up? Please? I’m at Echo Park, on a bench by the lake.

 **[Aleks]** Don’t feel like walking home.

 **[Himself]** Already on my way.

 

It doesn’t take Brett long to get to the Echo Park lake (only a few minutes) and after parking, he sets forth on finding Aleks. A bench by the lake isn’t really specific because it’s a big ass lake and there are benches all around so Aleks can be anywhere around the perimeter but thankfully, Brett can recognize Aleks from a mile away and he sees him clearly down the walkway.

Aleks’ pale complexion and bright blonde hair are illuminated clearly by the park lights but even without the lights, he would continue to stand out against the darkness. The lights help Brett to see his face clearly, the tiredness etched in his features, and the general vibe of gloom his body radiates. It looks as if he wants this day to finally end so he can start the next one on a fresh slate.

 

He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he continues forward and when Aleks turns his head to see the source of the footsteps he’s hearing, Brett makes eye contact with him and sends a small smile along with a wave.

“How you doing?” Brett asks.

“Me and Geoff broke up.”

“Ah,” is all Brett says as he goes to take a seat by the younger man.

He’s upset for Aleks because he knows that he was hopeful about his relationship with Geoff but it was necessary and he’s proud of Aleks for taking that difficult step. It’s the end of an era, a short lived one but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big part of Aleks’ life.

Every person you date, no matter how long it lasts, is going to leave a lasting impression on you and affect your view on relationships. It might not be a big change but a dent has still been made and it’s not something that can be ignored. You learn more about yourself with each relationship - what you like and dislike, what you can tolerate, and what your values are.

So it sucks that they're no longer together, Brett really believes that. Aleks seemed incredibly happy with Geoff and Brett was a genuine supporter, but there's a very small part of him, deep down in the dark pits that he’ll never acknowledge, that relishes in the fact that Aleks is _single._

 

“I’m fine, I really am,” Aleks assures. “And we like, really talked it out so it wasn’t messy or anything. It was probably like, the best case scenario for a breakup,” he chuckles. “But it’s just…” Aleks thins his lips and shrugs. “... I wonder what would happen between me and him if we didn’t rush into it. I regret not taking it slow.”

“I mean, there were a lot of factors that pushed you into it,” Brett reasons. “Everybody found out about you two, and then I was pushing for you to go out with him so you were kind of pressured.”

“But I’m an adult,” Aleks says. “And I make my own decisions. That’s what you said too.”

The corner of Brett’s mouth tilts into a wary grin as he looks to Aleks. “They make their own decisions but they can still be heavily influenced. Besides, I was being harsh on you when I said that.”

“Somebody had to tell me,” Aleks chuckles and runs his fingers back through his hair. “I’m glad it was you. I’m sorry that I just brushed you off and I didn’t dump him in the first place like I was going too but then he apologized and I didn’t wanna be the bad guy-”

“I get it, trust me,” Brett tells Aleks as he rests a hand on his shoulder. “Look, it fucking sucks being the bearer of bad news. I remember when I was your age, and I was so worried about dishing it out. I didn’t want anybody to hate me for it or hold any ill will but after awhile, in my position,” he shrugs, “I just had to get used to it. It’s one of those necessary parts of life we don’t like, like death, taxes-”

“And the YouTube comments?”

“Especially the YouTube comments.” Brett nods and he can’t help the big grin that breaks out onto his face, nor the chuckle that escapes his mouth as he looks back to Aleks. His grin softens when he sees that Aleks is giving a hint of a grin himself and he feels better that Aleks is a bit more cheerful now than he was seconds prior.

There are many things in this night that make Brett light up; it’s the various park lights, the radiant glow of the moon, and the twinkling stars, but then there’s Aleks’ smile. Even the smallest hint of it is enough to light up Brett’s heart - a million smiles in the world from millions of faces, but Aleks’ smile is the only one that makes Brett’s heart do _that._

“Hey,” Brett says, “smiling is a good look on you. You should do it more.”

Aleks swallows and scratches at his cheek, sort of pulling at the edge of his smile as it tries to widen. “Wow, gaaaaay,” he laughs nervously and looks off into the lake.

“Oh my god, _we’re gay!”_ Brett laughs and then squints his eyes and looks up into the sky. “Well, kind of.”

“I’m just kidding. Just _joshing._ Pulling your leg.”

Brett chuckles and brushes it off with an “uh huh” before he looks off into the lake with Aleks. The geyser that was spouting before has calmed itself so it’s completely quiet out here, but not so quiet that it’s tense. The atmosphere is serene now that Brett has rid of all the tension between him and Aleks by talking it out with him. There are no more lingering doubts or questions on their minds. They are both at peace.

“But uh, seriously… I’m sorry,” Aleks says. “You were right though, about everything. Even if you said you were harsh, I needed to hear that and um…” Aleks’ eyes glance over to Brett and Brett looks back into his when he realizes that Aleks has paused.

Aleks bites at his bottom lip and his tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek in sudden contemplation whilst Brett just continues to stare into his eyes, light brown now with the way the light hits. He can sort of see Aleks’ pupils, the specks of gold throughout his brown color, and it’s an exquisite kind of beauty you can only see in this light. It’s so beautiful that Brett has to pull his gaze away and he settles for looking down to Aleks’ lips, pink and parted open.

His lips are close, Brett notices, and they’re just a few inches away from his own. The thought of it definitely flashes through his mind and sure, Brett acknowledges these thoughts about Aleks now, but this isn’t exactly a thought he should have after Aleks has just dumped somebody. He forces himself to look back into Aleks’ eyes again, away from any temptation caused by those lips and this time, he’s prepared to stare into those golden brown eyes.

 

Aleks clears his throat and his cheeks heat when he realizes what part of Brett’s face he’s staring at and he looks from Brett’s lips and out into the lake. “Um, so… I-I care a lot about what you say. Like, I don’t care a huge amount about most other people but with you, like, I _want_  your approval. So when you say something and it doesn’t match up with what’s in my head, like, I wonder what I’m doing wrong. Or something, I don’t...” He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose with a slight groan. “God, why are we getting so fucking sappy tonight, dude?”

“You started it,” Brett points out. “But it’s not a bad thing. You need to talk shit out with people, what else are you gonna do? Meme the pain away?”

“Why not?”

Brett snorts and shakes his head. “Aleks, you’re doing great. Do you know how many people would kill to be in your position, at your age? You’re already doing so much better than me in LA when I was 24. You don’t need my approval, or anybody else’s. Those who don’t approve, don’t matter, and those who do approve, _do_  matter.”

That life lesson doesn’t come without a few exceptions but it rings true for the most part. Life lesson aside, Brett feels like he’s on top of the world with the fact that Aleks vies for his approval. He _needs_  Brett to tell him he’s doing a good job, that he’s on the right path, and he really doesn’t need to do that but god if it doesn’t make Brett feel great about himself.

Brett doesn’t really care about the approval of anybody else. He doesn’t need people to like him but Aleks is one of the distinct few he wants to please.

“If a serial killer approved of what I was doing, should I be concerned?” Aleks asks.

“Come on, don’t meme,” Brett chuckles. “You can be sappy with me. It’s just me.”

“Feel like we’re about to exhaust the sappiness quota.”

“I’d say there’s still a few moments for sap until we get home,” Brett says, patting Aleks’ shoulder before he stands up from the bench. “And once we get home, you can meme all you want.”

“I’ll take it, my man.” Aleks claps his hands and stands up from the bench as well to follow Brett back down the path, staying by his side. “Hey, it’s good we made up. It’d be really awkward if we went to Splash House this weekend and we still wanted to rip each other’s throats out.”

“We can’t get a refund on those tickets either,” Brett hisses. “And they were expensive.”

“It’ll be a fun time though, right?” Aleks asks as he wraps an arm around Brett’s shoulder. “Just two dudes, hanging out in a pool five feet apart cause we’re not gay… well, not 100 percent gay, anyways.”

“Ooh, that’ll be perfect rebound ground for you, dude!” Brett points out with a smile as he looks to Aleks. “You’re single now, you can go back out there and fuck who you want!”

“Hey, you’re single too.” Aleks waggles his eyebrows with a grin. “Perfect timing, isn’t it?”

 

Ha, they are both single now, aren’t they! That’s great! It’s really… really… oh no, this isn’t great _at all._ Brett’s going to have to work overtime to not let Aleks’ flirtations get to him and delude himself into thinking something will happen now that they’re both single, that they’re both into guys, that their type happens to be each other! There are _so_  many coincidences but that’s just it, isn’t it? Coincidences and nothing else?

Him and Aleks ever getting together has a 0.01% likelihood. Then again, Brett thought that about them kissing and then they shared that super hot kiss in front of their friends so maybe it’s more likely than he thinks.

… nah. That one kiss is the most that’ll ever happen.

* * *

 

**June 10th, 2017**

 

Brett looks into the mirror as he places the blue baseball cap backwards on his head and then he steps back to check out his body, like maybe if he keeps looking at it then he’ll figure out why other people love it so much. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate all of the nice things people say about his body because he does, a whole lot, but it doesn’t help his own self gratification. He wants hard, defined abs and thicker legs and no amount of praise is magically gonna make that happen. He has to put in the work himself.

But he looks fine right now. He’ll give himself a solid 7/10.

He steps out of the bathroom to see Aleks standing beside the bed totally naked and holding a pair of red and white swimtrunks.

Wait.

_OH MY GOD, I’M ALONE WITH ALEKS AND HE’S NAKED._

 

“Red looks good on me, doesn’t it?” Aleks asks as he looks to Brett, holding the trunks besides his exposed legs. “I heard red makes you sexier.”

_You look sexier without - STOP._

“I… uh, yeah, I heard that too, yeah.” Brett swallows and scratches the back of his neck, inhaling a sharp breath of air as his eyes disconnect themselves from his mind to check out the entirety of Aleks’ body now that it’s on display.

_Oh my god, he’s naked. Right in front of me._

“Like red makes you sexier and black makes you skinnier. Yo, science is wild.”

“Mmhm.”

_He’s so small compared to me. I could DESTROY him._

Brett could easily pick him up right now and throw him onto that bed. The only thing separating Brett’s dick from his ass, besides the distance, is the thin layer the trunks provide over his crotch. One layer separates them, just _one layer_ away from fucking Aleks’ beautifully pale body senseless. Brett could throw his legs high up on his shoulders or pick Aleks up and fuck him against a wall and he could do it with no effort, just fuck him against the wall for hours upon hours on end, _god, he is so fucking hot, I-_

Oh hey, his trunks are on! Just like that, Brett snaps out of his trance and is brought back to a reality where he and Aleks will never fuck. He doesn’t even have time to lament himself internally for his thoughts when Aleks whistles and his head perks up to give the hot skinny blonde his attention.

 

“Dude,” Aleks chuckles, “I forget how much bigger you are than me sometimes. Seriously dawg, look at this shit,” he says as he beckons Brett over with his hand so he can lead him over to the big mirror in their hotel room.

Brett really doesn’t need to look into the mirror to be reminded of their size difference. That’s a thing he thinks about every fucking day. If anything, it’s a reminder that he’s a pervert lusting after a close friend but at least he’s not pretending like he isn’t anymore. Baby steps, right?

“At least we’re the same height,” Brett says as his pupils glance to Aleks’ reflection. He notices a piece of fuzz on the top of his baseball hat and reaches up to pick it off.

Aleks crosses his arms over his chest and remarks, “you’re like, an inch taller.”

Brett scoffs and mirrors Aleks’ stance, his eyes scanning the entirety of his body. “Are you looking for reasons to find me hot?” he teases.

Aleks huffs a chuckle through his nose and tilts his head to look at Brett before stepping back. “I don’t need to look too hard at you to find those reasons but uh, certainly doesn’t hurt.” After winking, he openly scans over Brett’s mostly exposed body, up and down, and licks his lips when he gazes back into Brett’s eyes.

_Did he just check me out?_

And after Brett asks himself that again, he realizes that Aleks did just check him out! What’s with him lately? He’s been like, flirting with Brett so openly and it’s been happening before his breakup with Geoff too. He knows that’s how Aleks is and it’s in his nature to be somewhat of a flirt but he’s rarely serious about it. Brett doesn’t even think he’s being serious right now but… it just really fucks with him, alright?

He wishes so badly for it to be real, to _mean_  something. There are some occasions with Aleks where he can easily return the flirtations but after clearly checking out Aleks _(naked)_ he doesn’t feel right about that.

Brett coughs into his hand and averts his gaze quickly, walking away from the steadily growing uncomfortable heat of Aleks’ personal vicinity. “I-I mean, I’m not really, uh, you’re-”

“I’m joking.” Aleks rolls his eyes with a sigh and places his hands on his hips as he watches Brett walk away. “Dude, why do you get nervous when I hit on you? You know I’m joking when I do it.”

“I’m not nervous,” Brett laughs and his laugh holds the totally opposite infliction of what he just said. “Why would you think that?”

“It happens like… 60% of the time I hit on you, dude,” Aleks points out. “If you want me to stop, just say it.”

Brett likes it when Aleks flirts with him. Like, a lot. But he also doesn’t like it when Aleks flirts with him. Like, _a lot._ His mind always has these battles when Aleks decides to hit on him, telling Brett that he should delude himself and let his mind run wild, let him think that Aleks could actually be serious about it, but then the other side tells Brett to cast it to the side and not get his hopes up.

Look man, it’s tough lusting after your close friend. Why isn’t there an instruction manual on how to deal with this shit? Brett’s trying every method he can to deal with it and sometimes these methods conflict.

 

“It’s seriously not what you think.” Brett shakes his head and looks back to Aleks. “Like, it’s fine. Really.”

“So why do you get all awkward?”

“Um-”

_Knock knock knock._

“Oh shit, dude!” Brett exclaims as he hurries to the door. “I bet it’s Khail! This party is gonna get _lit,_ boys!”

Crisis averted! Khail or one of their other friends is here to save Brett before he can successfully plead the fifth! He’s going to act like this talk never happened between them! But just because he’s going to pretend it didn’t happen, doesn’t mean that Aleks will.

 

Aleks presses his lips together before he purses them over to one side, narrowing his eyes cautiously at Brett as he pulls Khail in for a one armed hug.

_What is he hiding?_

* * *

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_Robin Schulz (ft. Francesco) - Sugar_**

 

The hotel pools booked for the Splash House event are crowded with adults that barely make the legal drinking age and older party goers who have been doing these things for years. The women are clad in skimpy bikinis that show off their slender bodies and the men have washboard abs and muscles in places where muscles shouldn’t exist. The one thing all of these people have in common are their supermodel good looks and Brett thinks he’s a tad out of place.

Or he did until a group of hot chicks from across the pool blew him a bunch of kisses. Brett smiles over at them and gives a little wave and he chuckles when one of them squeals and turns to her friend, presumably to gush over him. Maybe Brett belongs here after all.

 

_“She got… cherry lips, angel eyes…”_

 

The California air is hot as always but the pool provides a cool contrast that perfectly balances it all out. Blue, pink, and yellow streamers are an awning from the roof of one hotel to the other and the rays of light hit through and disperse into the three vibrant colors, mixing with the blue of the pool and tinting the skin color of everybody lounging in and outside it. A little ways away is the DJ, who is really set on mostly playing house music and the beats vibrate in Brett’s ear, pump through his veins alongside the small bit of alcohol, and he hates to admit it but it’s sort of catchy.

 

_“She knows exactly how to tantalize.”_

 

“Yo, Brettzle Stick!” exclaims a very drunk Aleks.

_That’s… a really cute nickname._

Aleks beams at Brett when Brett notices him. “My main man!” he exclaims again as he casually steps over the threshold of the pool.

Brett then proceeds to watch Aleks fall straight down into the water with his phone still clutched tightly in his hand, the drink glass in his other rising up to the surface in an almost comical fashion.

 

_“She’s out to get you, danger by design.”_

 

Brett laughs and watches as Aleks emerges from the water to fling his raybans and phone off to the side. Without the raybans, Aleks’ face seems much more free, which means his natural beauty is available for Brett to bask in… goodness, he really is beautiful.

He still remembers walking into Aleks’ hotel room at PAX earlier this year. Aleks looked so damn sick but despite that, Brett still found him strikingly handsome. He kind of wanted to just stay in Aleks’ hotel room that day, talking to him about anything that was on his mind, just so he could be around him and _stare_  but you know, he couldn’t let himself get sick.

But maybe it would’ve been worth it… nah, it would definitely have been worth it. That small frame of time with Aleks that day was more fun for Brett than that entire convention was.

 

_“Cold blooded vixen, she don’t compromise.”_

 

Aleks grabs his drink and squints at the glass, holding it up to inspect the contents before he shrugs it off.

Brett’s eyes widen as he sees the glass move towards Aleks mouth and he swishes through the water to grab the drink from Aleks’ hand to place on the side of the pool. “Uh hey, bud, probably not a good idea to drink that.”

Aleks hums as his arms throw themselves around Brett’s neck and he pulls himself up close to press the front of his body against Brett’s. “Dude, you’re always like… lookin’ out for me and shit,” Aleks slurs. “Like, I appreciate it sooo much.”

 

_“She’s somethin’ mystical in colored lights - so far from typical, but take my advice…”_

 

There are loud sirens going off in Brett’s head that tell him to push Aleks off and swim the fuck away, maybe make his way over to the group of hot girls at the other side but through the sirens is a rather alluring, convincing voice inside his head that tells him to grab onto Aleks’ hips and keep his drunk ass by his side. You know, to _look out_  for Aleks, like Aleks appreciates _sooo much._

“It’s just what best friends do, bud.” Brett shrugs and holds Aleks close by his hips, the heat spreading throughout his body when Aleks somehow presses closer and the added heat of Aleks adds to what he’s already feeling, it makes his body temperature rise to uncomfortable levels that not even this cool pool can simmer.

 

_“Before you play with fire, do think twice…”_

 

“Like, even with Geoff… you were just _there_  for me,” Aleks says against his ear. “And you never stopped, like, even when I was being a _bitch_  and tellin’ you that you’re wrong about us-”

“Aleks, I told you, it’s fine,” Brett assures as he tilts his head away from the hot air ghosting past Aleks’ lips. “And you know I’ll always be there for you. We all need one person to be there for us, right?”

 

_“And if you get burned, don’t be surprised.”_

 

This is precisely why Brett stopped drinking earlier. He was planning to get fucking wasted like most other people at this party but then he noticed how hard Aleks was going on the drinks and he took a step back. Somebody has to watch Aleks and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid! Usually Brett goes along with Aleks on that but there’s some outside force that’s telling him it’s best he stays the sober one between them, the voice of reason, just for tonight.

Probably a good thing too because Brett doesn’t want to know what he’d do right now if he was drunk and Aleks was doing _this_  to him.

 

_“Got me lifted, drifted, higher than the ceiling...”_

 

“You’re my person,” Aleks says softly as his mouth chases Brett’s ear. “You know that? You’ve always been my person.”

And if Brett _was_  drunk, he wouldn’t be able to realize the heavy gravity of Aleks’ words and the implication that arises from them. It falls along the lines of everything else Aleks has been telling him; that he needs Brett’s approval, his advice, his actual presence, but this sort of encompasses all of that, a catch all phrase that continues to remind Brett of his importance in the boy’s life.

That kind of strong connection is rare to find in people that aren’t family members. If it wasn’t for this, it’d be more of a challenge to hide his feelings for Aleks but it makes them manageable. He doesn’t need to search for anything more with Aleks when they’ve already reached, what he thinks, is a pretty high level in their friendship. Even if there are other feelings that are more one sided, that have _always_  been one sided, Brett’s cool with it.

 

_“Oooh, baby, it’s the ultimate feeling.”_

 

“Oh my god, _dude.”_ Aleks pulls his mouth away with a laughs and moves his hands so he can grab the sides of Brett’s face to look into his eyes. “Yo, there’s something I gotta tell you.”

Brett takes his hands off Aleks’ hips to grab his wrists, pulling his hands away from his face with a small smile. “And what’s that?”

 

_“You got me lifted, feeling so gifted, sugar, how you get so fly?”_

 

“Dude, legit, no memes, I used to have this _big_  crush on you,” Aleks reveals.

_Excuse me._

“You’re just fucking hot, dude, like real fucking hot and back then, like, you were just every fucking thing I was looking for in a hot guy.”

_What is happening right now._

“I didn’t even know I was into guys but then I saw you and like,” Aleks lets go of Brett’s face and puts his hands on his head before he suddenly takes them off, “BOOM, it all made sense. You were my closet key, bro, like, that’s what I mean when I say you’ve always been my person.”

“You…” Brett closes his eyes and presses his hands to his temples to rub them. “... you uh, you… used to like me? Me? You liked me?”

_… why doesn’t he like me anymore?_

And then, _fuck my life,_ Aleks has his arms wrapped around Brett’s neck again to press their bodies close together like before and the man inside Brett’s mind is running all over and clawing at his brain, begging to be let out because the receptors in his mind have lit up like wildfire to quickly trap him and set him ablaze.

“Yeah, but I’m over it.” Aleks shrugs, looks to Brett’s lips, and licks along his own. “But uh, gotta be honest, I still want you to rail me. Especially after what we did, at the club?” he chuckles and bites down on his bottom lip with a small, barely audible moan. “Fuck, I felt you against me and it was so hot, dude.”

It’s like everything Aleks is saying is being said just so he can call out Brett for the more than friendly things he’s done with him, such as the kissing and the grinding, but then he’d have to be calling Brett a pervert or something if he was calling him out. No, he’s bringing these things up because he _liked_  doing these things with Brett, and he wants… more?

 

_“Oooh, sweet-talking lady, love how you entice - sugar with just the right amount of spice...”_

 

“Uh, Aleks, you’re drunk,” Brett chuckles nervously and backs up against the wall of the pool. “I don’t think you really know what you’re saying.”

But Aleks just keeps his hold tight around Brett’s neck and lets Brett carry him back. So now Brett is pressed against the pool with a drunk Aleks who just admitted to having a crush on him, who’s now admitting he wants to be _fucked_ by him, and if you think that’s gonna fuck with Brett down there at all, then you’re right - it really fucks with him down there.

He feels like a teenage boy who just managed to score the cheerleading captain. They’re alone in his bedroom and his parents aren’t home and the cheerleader is grinding all up on him, making him so _aching hard,_ and he wants nothing more than to put it inside something tight and warm, but the difference is that the teenage boy can do something about it. Brett can’t.

 

_“Charming, alluring, everyone’s desire…”_

 

“No dude, _you_  don’t know what you’re saying,” Aleks counters. “Don’t act like you don’t wonder about it.”

“Aleks, you should-”

And it happens so suddenly, Aleks crashing his lips onto his.

 

_“She’s out to get you - you can’t run, you can’t hide.”_

 

Aleks tastes like the strongest tequila and Brett thinks there’s a bit of mango laced with it. He can’t really tell because he’s too busy trying to repress, to ignore, _to forget_ , but regardless of how hard he tries, he still feels in his bones what any sane man would feel in this predicament - pure, unadulterated lust, with Aleks’ slightly chapped lips serving as the trigger.

Brett actually gives in, believe it or not, and he gets lost in the gratification that comes with fulfilling a deep, dark fantasy. For the next minute or two, he forgets everything about the world he’s in, all of the interesting nuances of it, because Aleks, Aleks and his _lips,_ are so much more deserving.

 

_“She’s something mystical in colored lights…”_

 

He wraps his arm around the back of Aleks’ shoulders and the other wraps around his waist for that full body coverage so he can keep their bodies together, as close as he can possibly manage. They’re both clinging to each other so tightly, like they’re the only two solid beings in the soft, swaying waves of this pool but they’re actually blending in quite well with the half naked, horny crowd.

 

_“So far from typical, but take my advice - before you play with fire, do think twice...”_

 

Brett is fully aware of what he’s doing with this kiss. He knows his tongue is insistent, knows that it’s pushing into Aleks’ willing mouth, and he definitely knows that moan he heard from Aleks was real. It was a loud one until Brett silenced it but Aleks continues to show his approval for the kiss by moving one of his hands to thread into the back of Brett’s hair, tugging tightly at the strands, and the other grabs onto his shoulder to dig his nails into the wet skin.

 

_“Got me lifted, drifted, higher than the ceiling…”_

 

The heat that’s unfurling through Brett’s body is one he recognizes all too well, because it’s scorching him like it did the first time they kissed. Only this time, it’s not for an audience - it’s solely for the two of them. Without watching eyes, the heat disapparates completely into a pleasant warmth that gives Brett some clarity and insight into what he’s doing with Aleks and he realizes that hey, he’s kissing Aleks, for the _second time,_ and it feels real fucking good.

_Oh my god, I’m kissing Aleks... and he’s totally drunk, abort, ABORT._

Brett pulls off from Aleks’ mouth, tilts his head away, and licks his lips clean of Aleks’ alcoholic taste. He really wants to do it again, so damn bad, and Aleks tastes so good, he _feels_ so good but he can’t do it again, not when Aleks is drunk.

_Maybe if he were sober._

He already fucked up by giving in for that one minute but it’s not too late to put a stop to all of this. Even if Aleks is starting to whine and chase after his mouth, Brett needs to be the responsible one.

 

_“Oooh, baby, it’s the ultimate feeling.”_

 

“Yeah bud, we’re ending it there,” Brett tells him as he lets go of Aleks completely and he hopes Aleks will let go but _jesus christ, he’s still hanging on._

“Why nooot?” Aleks complains. “Was it not good enough?”

“It was the total opposite,” Brett admits. “But-”

“So treat yourself, man, come on,” Aleks chuckles and presses an open mouth kiss to Brett’s cheek. “Mmm, I know you’re fuckin’ good enough. Your kisses are so hot, like, I still haven’t stopped thinking about our first one.”

_That makes two of us. Wait, wHAT?_

Aleks hasn’t stopped thinking about it either? It’s not just Brett? Yeah, Brett shouldn’t be surprised considering every fucking thing else Aleks has revealed to him tonight but it’s all so much to take in so quickly and Brett hasn’t fully realized yet that Aleks actually like… _wants him_ in that way. Does he? Or is he just drunk out of his mind?

It’s definitely the latter. He’s been downing shots and drinks like it’s fucking water in the Death Valley. It’s probably a conversation Brett should have with him when he’s sober though. He’d really not like to have it considering how it can go but Aleks needs to know what happened tonight. Brett would be wrong for keeping him in the dark.

 

“God, you’re so fucking drunk,” Brett says as he wraps an arm back around Aleks’ waist so he can wade through the pool with him. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

“We gonna fuck?” Aleks waggles his eyebrows. “I totally give my consent.”

“No, and I don’t care if you give consent because I don’t fuck drunk dudes.”

“Don’t be a pussy, dude.”

“I’m not a pussy because I refuse to fuck somebody who’s not in the right state of mind.”

“Uhhh,” Aleks scoffs. “Wanting you to fuck me is _totally_  the right state of mind.”

_ALEKSANDR._

“Alright, you leave me no choice,” Brett sighs and wraps his other arm around Aleks’ waist to suddenly hoist the man over his shoulder, giving his ass a gentle pat. “No more partying for you tonight.”

“Suck my dick,” Aleks tells him. “But seriously, like, you should suck it.”

Brett presses his lips together and hums lowly, shaking his head. “Aleks… you’re going to get in _so much trouble_  saying things like that,” he mumbles as he walks up the little ramp to get out of the pool.

“What the fuck did you just say to me? ME? You BITCH? I’ll have you know, Brett, _if that is even your real name,_ that I’ve graduated the top of my class in the US armed forces-”

“That meme is so outdated, bro,” Brett chuckles. “Jesus, this is the drunkest you’ve ever been.”

How does Brett know that? Well for one, Aleks has never _kissed_  him when he was drunk. Or told Brett that he wants to _“get railed”_ by him. Or told Brett that he still thinks about their kiss all the time and how hot it was. Also, he tried to take a sip of his drink despite the fact that pool water was in it but like, it’s mostly the former things. _Definitely_  the former things.

“You’re outdated, bro,” Aleks childishly retorts.

Brett chuckles again, internally shrugging it off. He’s glad that Aleks is back to being a memester instead of a seducer. Brett can handle old memes and childish teasing, hell, that’s basically how Cow Chop pays rent, but he doesn’t know how much more he can handle Aleks saying more shit like… well, the shit he’s been saying in the last few minutes. Aleks always does this when he’s drunk though, just switches topics on a whim, so maybe that was all for tonight.

“I’d still fuck you though,” Aleks adds on with a grin. “Hard. Like my dick.”

It was not all for tonight and Brett prays to the gods above once more to show him mercy. Thankfully, his prayers are answered quickly when Aleks makes no mention of how much he wants to fuck Brett the entire time Brett carries him back inside and to their hotel room. In fact, he sort of just… dozes off to sleep, which instantly nips any chances of Aleks continuing to seduce him right in the bud.

 

It’d be nice if the gods could’ve answered his prayers earlier back when Aleks first brought it up but then he and Aleks wouldn’t have kissed each other again and it was a pretty fucking nice kiss, even nicer than their first.

Honestly? Brett doesn’t regret it.

The part of Brett’s mind that tells Brett to keep it professional is still nagging at him to leave this night behind but the other part of his mind, the part that tells him that his desires are valid and should be expressed, is coaxing him to test the waters with Aleks.

But how, exactly, is he supposed to do that?


	15. Flowing With Electricity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett have a discussion about their drunk kiss and it leaves Aleks more confused about him than ever before. Thankfully, James affirms his duties as best friend by providing Aleks some much needed insight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a double upload week so come back Friday @ 7 PM for Chapter 16!
> 
> And thank you all again for reading this fic and giving me your time! :')

**** **June 11th, 2017**

 

When Aleks wakes up the next morning and sees the green paper band around his wrist, every single thing that he did last night plays through in his mind; getting blown off by that one hot blonde chick, almost drinking from a tainted glass, telling Brett how important he is… and everything else after that.

Every single word and… mostly every single action, Aleks remembers it all, at least the general idea.

_Oh my god, Brett knows I want him to fuck me._

Aleks groans and presses his hands to his forehead to gently rub at it, his eyes falling back shut.

His wasted ass actually told Brett that he wants to “get railed” by him, right before he…

“Oh my god,” Aleks whines, “I fucking kissed Brett.” He threads both of his hands back into his blonde hair and stares up at the ceiling with wide eyes. “I fucking kissed him, oh my god...” He slams his eyes shut with another whine. “Fuuuuuck me, dude.”

He doesn’t remember what Brett’s lips tasted like but he does remember what exactly their kiss turned into and how receptive Brett was… for like, a minute until he pulled away. But in that minute, Aleks was the happiest fucking guy in the world and the alcohol only made that stronger.

The kiss was fulfilling and passionate, _so very_ passionate. It sent Aleks soaring into the heavens above and completely clouded his judgement, far more than the alcohol ever could. All senses of perception and reality were washed away in the pool tides and his mind focused all of its available energy on Brett. The only detail Aleks precisely remembers is Brett’s tongue pushing into his mouth but as a whole, the kiss was amazing. Aleks doesn’t need to remember everything about it to confirm that…

… but it sure would fucking help - or maybe it’d just make his internal crisis that much more daunting.

The “ding” at the door brings Aleks out from his wandering thoughts and he opens his eyes to see Brett in a red tanktop and black shorts, a black baseball hat laying backwards on his head. He’s carrying a Denny’s bag in one hand and uses the other to close the door behind him.

 

“Hey dude,” Brett greets. “I got us some-”

“Brett, holy fucking shit, dude, I am _so sorry_ about last night,” Aleks rattles off quickly as he scurries off the bed. “I was so fucking drunk-”

“It’s cool, seriously,” Brett chuckles and holds up a hand in front of Aleks as he walks over to the table. “Besides, we uh… we all say shit like that when we’re drunk. I got you waffles with a shitload of whipped cream on the side, is that cool?”

Aleks opens his mouth but closes it just as quickly and his lips press together as he goes to the table. “So like… you really didn’t mind the things I said?”

Brett replies, “no, of course not,” as he takes out the boxes from the bag to inspect the contents of each one.

Aleks chews on his bottom lip in thought and looks off to the side.

Brett doesn’t mind the things Aleks said, sure, but… what about the things Aleks _did?_ He hasn’t said anything about that and Aleks would actually feel a lot better if Brett teased him for it because at least he’d know Brett would be cool about it. Just because Brett hasn’t brought up that part of the drunk night doesn’t mean that he’s fine with it, it only means that it’s not being acknowledged.

Except it has to be acknowledged. All of the things that Aleks did needs to be talked about so Aleks can know where they stand, so Aleks can gather some insight as to why Brett _returned the kiss._

It might have only been for a minute, one, singular minute, but right now, that minute is the equivalent to an eternity.

Aleks looks back to the table to see his open box of waffles and he takes a deep breath, to gather up courage, as he grabs the fork beside the box to unwrap it. “What about the kiss?” Aleks asks. “Did you mind that?”

Brett stops in the middle of opening his box, his fingers staying curled right where they are at the lid opening. Right as Aleks takes his fork out from the wrapper, he looks up and notices that Brett is still staring at the box and his eyes don’t seem capable of moving anywhere else at the moment.

Slowly wagging his fork back and forth, Aleks averts his attention to the waffles and he hopes that eating them will somewhat squander the now awkward silence.

“You know,” Brett starts and Aleks immediately looks up to him, “maybe we should talk a little bit about last night. Do you remember all the shit you said to me?”

“Yeah,” Aleks answers. “All of it.”

Brett nods and takes his hands off the box to lay them flat on the table. “Right…” He licks along his lips and looks back up to Aleks. “... did you mean any of that? I mean, if you did, I’m not gonna run out of here but it’s definitely something to talk about if that’s the case. Especially if you like, kissed me after it was all said and done with. Kind of uh,” he chuckles and looks off to the side. “Kind of gives more meaning to the kiss then.”

 _Did_  Aleks mean any of that? Yes.

He meant every word of it.

A drunk mind speaks a sober heart, after all, but obviously Aleks isn’t going to admit that to Brett. Aleks is sober right now and he’s very well aware of how fucking terrible that idea is… isn’t it? Yeah, why else would Brett wanna discuss it if it meant something? It’s so he can tell Aleks that’ll never happen, of course! And what would he say? He’d probably say something like, _“we’re friends and that could be awkward and we work together and we live together and honestly, you’re just not that attractive to me. And you’re stupid. And also you have no friends.”_

Probably not those last three things but definitely the first part of that.

So Aleks just shakes his head, takes a seat, and props his head onto his hand while the other tightens the grip on the fork to dig into his waffles. “Like you said, it’s just shit you say when you’re drunk,” Aleks reiterates. “And like, I think you’re hot and all but we’re just friends. Close friends.”

There’s a few moments of silence and Aleks feels a small need to elaborate to fill it in but thankfully, Brett cuts the silence with a simple “okay” and a shrug before he makes his way to the bathroom.

Aleks releases a long, relieved sigh and shoves a big bite of waffle into his mouth.

_Glad to get that over and done with._

They’ll forget that night ever happened and continue on with life as normal, like Aleks doesn’t want Brett to fucking rail him at all. It’s just like it was when Aleks was crushing on Brett earlier in his life and Aleks went through that pretty okay! At least he just wants to fuck Brett because if he wanted to date him, this would be a lot messier.

 

“Hey, Aleks,” Brett calls out as he opens the bathroom door, turning around to face him.

“What’s up?” Aleks asks around his mouthful without looking up.

Brett drums his fingers rather incessantly against the open doorway of the bathroom and steadily looks over Aleks, as much as he can. “Listen, for what it’s worth,” he says with a shrug, “that kiss we had was pretty nice. Probably nicer than our first one.”

Aleks snaps his head up in time to see Brett wink at him with a grin before he vanishes into the bathroom. He blinks a few times as he processes what Brett just said, that they had a nice kiss, and the implications that come from it, like the fact that he likedthe kiss. Of course he fucking did because he kissed Aleks back, _he actually kissed me back,_ and apparently Brett was thinking about it enough to quantify it higher on the scale than their first.

Brett kissed Aleks.

Brett kissed Aleks _and he liked it..._

… but that all means nothing if Brett is just gonna get weird about it! Or maybe he won’t, how the fuck should Aleks know at this point? Why does he always fucking flip flop whenever they flirt? Like sometimes, Brett will try to switch topics, often desperately, but then other times, he’ll reciprocate so easily and on a few occasions, he’s the one that even starts it.

For example, like when he initiated the dancing with Aleks at that club a couple of weeks ago. It could’ve just been a simple, funny dance, but it turned into a full on grinding session. His big, strong hands wandered all over Aleks’ sides and his hot breath ghosted over Aleks’ neck, his ear, and it made Aleks wish that he could feel his breath along various other parts of his body.

Or like, when he was the one that calmed Aleks down enough into kissing him on camera, in front of their friends. It could’ve just been a simple kiss too and everybody would be fine with it, it’s probably what everybody was expecting, but he made it _so much more_ than it was.

 

Aleks squints his eyebrows together and scrunches his lips in distaste. As he drops his fork into the box, he asks aloud to himself, “dude, what the fuck is going on?”

* * *

 

**June 13th, 2017**

 

James is actually willing to wait in the Super Mario Odyssey line for that silly hat and hey, _hats off_  to him, but Brett and Aleks don’t think the reward is worth it… eh, one of them has to get something out of E3 this year, right? Who are they to intrude on James’ fun?

So they let James wait in line and in the meantime, they’re going to continue shooting their E3 video. Trevor was supposed to come along with them but when Aleks looks back, he’s nowhere to be found in the growing crowd of people behind them.

“Gotta be honest, E3 is kind of a shitshow this year,” Aleks says as he looks forward again.

“Yeeeah.” Brett blows out a breath. “We can probably sit it out next year.”

What’s the point in acquiring media badges if they can’t actually like, do media? Aleks just feels like a regular fanboy with a fancy title ascribed to him.

E3 is nearly the same every year and the only difference is the games that are shown but the convention used to carry an air of grandeur, it seemed so much larger than life. The last time Aleks went to E3, it was in 2015 on a road trip with the rest of the Creatures, and despite his growing frustration with the channel, he had the time of his life. The road trip was littered with interesting stops on the way that kept it from being a monotonous journey and when they arrived at the convention, it was as if he arrived at Heaven’s gates.

But now he lives in LA and it only took them 45 minutes, including traffic, to get here. They can leave at anytime and be back home before the sun sets so the idea that E3 is still this mystical gamer haven is laughable. It’s crowded, so damn crowded, and it’ll be hours before they actually play a game they’re _kinda_  interested in.

It’s all incredibly overhyped but hey, at least Aleks is here with Brett. Brett keeps it from being a total shitshow.

“Hey, media hospitality room is over there,” Brett points out as he nudges Aleks’ shoulder. “Wanna go back in there, refill our drinks? Maybe Trevor will even come back to us.”

You know what, that sounds swell! Aleks is getting pretty low on his sweet tea so he happily follows Brett over.

 

There’s not really a crowd by the room, just people walking near it on the way to some booth so it’s practically a beeline into the room. On the way, however, Aleks notices a man pointing to him before he looks to his friend and Aleks looks forward but keeps his attention on the two out of the corner of his eye.

“Isn’t that Geoff Ramsey’s boyfriend?” one of them asks. “Who’s that older guy with him? Is that his dad?”

“Oh shit, yeah, he’s that uh… I think he’s that dude from Cow Chop,” the other one answers. “I dunno, I just know they’re a thing.”

Aleks chews on his bottom lip. He breathes in deeply to calm the slight agitation rising within him as he enters the hospitality room. “You know what fucking sucks, dude?” Aleks asks.

“What’s up, bud?”

“When you’re dating somebody and it’s all anybody ever talks about. Even when you guys breakup, it’s like, that’s the only thing people wanna talk about with you,” Aleks explains while he walks with Brett over to the drinks.

“People looove to gossip,” Brett says as he sets his cup down on the table to fill it with lemonade. “You and Geoff were a pretty new thing though, give it a few more weeks and it’ll die down.”

“Still annoying.” Aleks shrugs before he mirrors Brett’s action, filling his cup with sweet tea instead. “It’s not that I hate Geoff, cause he’s still cool and shit, you know? But it’s like, hey, I’m cool and shit too, I’m a lot more than somebody’s boyfriend. _Ex_  boyfriend.”

Annnnnd this is part of the reason why E3 has been such a shitshow - the near endless comments people have been making in passing about Aleks and Geoff, like they’re still a thing even though they’re not even dating anymore.

Geoff hasn’t even texted Aleks since they called it quits, which was an amicable decision between them, but Geoff isn’t this significant part of his life at all (they didn’t even date for a full month!) and Aleks doesn’t want to be connected to him when he’s his own person. In their defense, the breakup isn’t public news but it’s still fucking annoying, okay?

“Fans of ours know you’re a lot more than that,” Brett tells him. “But Geoff is a lot more popular than we are. I don’t think people are trying to lessen who you are, I think it’s just them not knowing who you are and that’s what they know you as.”

Aleks raises his eyebrows in brief acknowledgement but his lips are still pressed together in annoyance, an arm crossed over his own chest while his other hand rises just enough to take a sip of his drink.

Maybe it makes Aleks sound a bit conceited, like he expects fans to know who he is, but at a gaming convention, that’s not some outlandish thing to expect.

 

Brett looks up to Aleks, his gaze dips down to his lips, and he stares for a few moments before he looks down to his drink. “You know, I don’t take it too personally when people say I’m your dad or ask who the hell I am, what the hell I’m doing with you and James or whoever,” he says as he leans against the table beside Aleks, shoving his free hand into his pocket. “I guess that’s different from people only knowing you as somebody’s boyfriend but I sort of get it. I’ve been there before.”

“Don’t take it too personally, huh?”

“I don’t, no.” Brett shakes his head. “Not saying you can’t. Cause it’s definitely annoying and you and I both know you’re so much more. You have a lot going for you and being reduced to one material thing can suck but-”

“I shouldn’t think too hard about it?” Aleks finishes for him with a small smile, giving Brett a knowing look.

“Wow, yeah,” Brett chuckles. “That’s exactly it.”

Brett says that all the time and every single time, Aleks knows he’s right but it feels good to vent about his problems. Even if he’s not looking for an answer, Brett magically has it for him.

“God, how long have we been living together?” Brett asks, glancing to Aleks before he looks to the ceiling. “Like, 2 months? Have we really reached the point where we can finish each other’s sentences?”

“Depends, let’s try it out.” Aleks turns his body to face Brett and Brett does the same. Aleks takes a sip of his drink and swishes it around in his mouth before he starts with, “I love...”

And Brett rightfully finishes that with, “dick.”

“Hell yeah, dude!” Aleks exclaims as he raises his hand to give Brett a rad high five. “We really do finish each other’s sentences. That’s lit, bro.”

“I wish Trevor were here to film that,” Brett sighs and sips his drink, licking his lips clean. “He’s missing some good content.”

“He is,” Aleks says. “But I wouldn’t want him to film what we just talked about.”

“Oh, about Geoff? Yeah, you’re gonna be fine,” Brett scoffs. “Besides, the people saying these things are socially awkward nerds. Pretend like it’s a YouTube comment, only you’re hearing it in public.”

“Both are annoying.”

“It’s the price we pay for being content creators…” Brett sighs dramatically and leans his head back, placing a hand over his own forehead. “Oh, such a tragic life we lead!”

Aleks laughs and shakes his head, patting Brett’s shoulder. “English majors are always so dramatic,” he says as he walks away from the table. “There’s not even a camera around.”

“This isn’t an act, Aleks, this is a _lifestyle,”_ Brett says in a dramatic tone as he follows after Aleks. “Buuut we should probably find Trevor and his camera and get the train rolling again. Let’s skedaddle.”

With Brett’s guidance, Aleks knows that, once again, everything is going to be alright.

Months from now, he’ll look back on his relationship with Geoff as an interesting romantic development that was exciting for what it was but ultimately, it just wasn’t meant to be. People will forget that it’s a thing that even happened and only remember it if Aleks jokes about it in a video way down the line.

It’s like Brett said - he shouldn’t think too hard about it. It’ll work itself out.

 

He and Brett exit the room and their eyes widen collectively when they see the humongous crowd that somehow managed to congregate here. What is about this particular space that’s so popular all of a sudden? Whatever it is, it’s gonna make navigating through it a bitch to handle.

“Alright, it’s fine,” Brett assures as he nudges his hand against Aleks’. “Take my hand.”

Aleks quickly looks down to their hands and looks back to Brett just as quickly. “What?”

“Take my hand, dude!” Brett tells him as he pushes at Aleks’ hand again with his own. “Or we’re gonna get separated like Trevor did with us.”

Aleks rolls his lips back and looks down to Brett’s hand again, a breath parting through when Brett’s fingers wiggle and connect with his. It sends a slight tingle through his body, surprising at first but it quickly settles into an almost comforting sensation.

_Grab. His. Hand._

Aleks slowly moves his hand towards Brett’s and then he curls his fingers through the open spaces of his. The tingling sensation comes back even stronger when Brett’s fingers curl back against his to fully intertwines them before they walk through the crowd together, hand in hand.

Their hands are about the same size and rest perfectly on top of each other. Brett’s hand is warm and the heat of it seeps into Aleks and sends through his veins, his ventricles, makes his heart rapidly pick up in pace before it settles into a steady rhythm. Aleks looks down and his eyes trail along the lines of their intertwined fingers to admire how nice they look together...

Aleks swallows and shakes his head, quickly taking a sip of his drink.

_This sweet tea is fucking fire, dawg._

 

“You know,” Brett says, “people might stop talking about you and Geoff if they see us holding hands.”

Aleks takes a longer sip of his drink as he quickly tries to put together an appropriate retort. He lets go of his straw with a satisfying “ah” and then smacks his lips. “Well, I _am_  single so if you wanna take that plunge.”

And instead of Brett recoiling or ignoring it like Aleks thought he would, Brett actually responds in turn with a little tease of his own.

“Considering you tried to rebound with me a few nights ago,” Brett says, “I think you’re trying to say something here.”

Of course not! Aleks would never date Brett! Well, it’s not like it’d be a bad thing but… he’s like, totally past that! No, he might want Brett to be in him but he doesn’t want Brett to be into him in that way, in a romantic sense. If he wanted some no strings attached sex then Aleks would throw himself at him with open arms and legs but-

“Duuude, I’m joking!” Brett laughs and squeezes his hand. “Remember when you said I was the one who got nervous whenever you hit on me? What happened to that?”

Actually, yeah… what did happen to that? He doesn’t seem nervous at all right now, in fact, those words just flew out of his mouth with no hesitation. That sort of thing doesn’t happen overnight or in the course of a few days and it just confuses Aleks more.

He lives with Brett now. Shouldn’t that make Brett less confusing to figure out?

* * *

 

**June 14th, 2017**

 

“No, you underage piece of shit!” James chides while he gently pushes Trevor’s shoulder. “Get your own drink!

“I can’t!” Trevor whines. “That’s why I was asking you!”

“Should’ve thought about that before you decided to be born later,” Aleks says as he raises a knowing eyebrow, like he made an irrefutable point, before he takes a sip of his Prosecco.

Trevor blows out a breath and lowers his camera. “Man, I thought E3 would be exciting.”

“It was until we basically got lumped in with consumers,” James says. “It was a lot better a few years ago.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Trevor says. “I’m gonna get a baby’s drink then, I’ll be back.”

“Hey, I’m gonna get an adult drink, lemme come with you.” Joe says as he follows Trevor.

And so they go off to get drinks which leaves Aleks and James alone with each other… at a crowded convention center but it’s not like they’re gonna try and talk to other people.  Why talk to other people when they can sneak off, make out with each other, and live happily ever after? In fact, that's exactly what they-

Haha, just kidding! They’re here strictly on business.

Aleks doesn’t know how much of that will get done, considering the lines for everything and their nigh-useless media badges, but they’ll do their best. They’ll both try and find an interesting game but if that’s all booked, Aleks is just gonna drink and eat for the rest of his time here which is uh, sort of what he did yesterday with Brett.

_I wish Brett were here too._

 

“Soooo…” James trails off as he leans over the counter, looking to Aleks. “You think we’ll get anything done today?”

“Nah.” Aleks shakes his head. “There’s not really much to do with the games anymore, me and Brett just kinda bullshitted our way through yesterday.”

“Oh yeah, you guys were with each other all day, weren’t ya?” James asks with a small grin as he looks forward. “You get Trevor to film you two making out or something? Gotta at least give the fans something to look forward to in these videos.”

“We could always get Trevor to film us making out.” Aleks shrugs and looks down to James with a grin of his own. “That’d really go over well.”

“I dunno, the last time I saw you two kiss…” James breathes in deeply and shakes his head as he stands up straight. “I don’t think I can top that.”

In James’ defense, can anybody top that? Not even Geoff, with as many hot kisses he’s shared with Aleks, could beat out that one… er, two times, that Brett has kissed Aleks. Geoff’s not a bad kisser by any means and he knows what he’s doing but Brett’s lips were perfect in the way they tasted, how they felt, that everybody else pales in comparison.

Even the kiss they shared a few nights ago... Aleks still doesn’t remember exactly how it went but he knows it had to be pretty damn amazing. He has a gut feeling about it, especially if Brett told him it was nicer than their first.

 

“Hey, remember on the podcast today?” James asks as he nudges Aleks’ shoulder. “I still don’t know what you did at that thing that Brett refuses to talk about. What was it?”

Aleks doesn’t mind thinking about their kisses again, not at all, but talking about it? Even just discussing what happened in vague terms earlier on their podcast made Aleks feel uneasy…

_Everybody had finally found a place to set down their chairs to continue with the filming of the fifth CCTV broadcast. The offramp of a freeway isn’t exactly an ideal location but they did just walk around downtown LA for the majority of the last podcast so it’s sort of becoming a theme, to film in weird locations._

_Aleks wasn’t going to talk about the Splash House event, for obvious reasons, but James notices and points out his bracelet so he feels a bit of an obligation to briefly discuss it._

_“... but uh, yeah, for somebody like you, James, I wouldn’t recommend going to something like that,” Aleks says. “I mean, I would go again but that’s just more my style, it’s the total opposite of yours.”_

_“Yeah, to the average viewer, somebody like James, this event isn’t for you,” Brett elaborates._

_“Pretty much, it’s just a glorified college party.”_

_“You would’ve been fucking miserable,” Brett chuckles. “And I’m actually gonna take this time to call something out because, I dunno, I guess somebody on Reddit posted a picture of me and Aleks together in the pool…”_

_Aleks slumps a little in his seat and holds his arms to himself as the drunken memories flood back into his mind; their shirtless, wet bodies pressing together in the pool, Brett’s strong, warm arms wrapped around him, and his soft, skillful lips melding with his own..._

_“... and they were like ‘Oh, I know James and Aleks are best friends, I hope he’s getting these invites because I’m really uncomfortable when I see just Brett and Aleks hanging out’.” “Number one,” Brett chuckles and suddenly sits up in his seat before loudly proclaming, “MIND YOUR BUSINESS!”_

_Brett’s loud voice cuts Aleks from his thoughts and he shoots up in his seat to look over to the older man._

_Brett laughs and settles back in his seat as he holds up two  fingers. “Two, we can handle our friendships. You can still be best friends with somebody and not do everything with them.”_

_“Oh, y-yeah, for sure.” Aleks nods. “Also like, I’m in LA now and I’m living with you so it gives you and I a chance to get closer, get to know each other more, stuff we couldn’t do because we lived so far apart.”_

_“Exactly my point!” Brett motions his hands to Aleks. “We’ve known each other for so long, longer than you have with James? And we’re just now getting around to this and making up for all that lost time. So like I said,” he claps his hands together and looks back into the camera, “we can handle our friendships. We know what James likes and what he doesn’t and he would’ve hated that.”_

_“I just wanna go to my horse races, man.” James shrugs. “You guys are the type to party all the time but I just wanna chill. The only reason I’d might wanna go to something like that is to see how fucked up you guys got.”_

_“I mean, we got pretty fucked up. Well, more Aleks then me.” Brett chuckles and looks over to Aleks, who’s now blushing profusely._

_“Yeah?” James grins and looks to Aleks as well. “Yo, how fucked up did you get?”_

_“I-It was just like-”_

_“It was just one thing,” Brett chuckles. “But I won’t say.”_

_“Dude,” Aleks whines, “I said I was sorry.”_

_“It’s cool, man, it’s our little secret. It ain’t no big thaaang.”_

_“Wait,” Joe chimes in, “you can’t bring up something and then cut yourself off. You got a duty to tell us.”_

_“Promised I wouldn’t tell.” Brett crosses his arms behind his head. “Sorry, boys.”_

… but it’s only James. Though they’re surrounded by people, they’re all too into their own conversations and the hype of E3 to notice them so they might as well be alone. It still doesn’t make the situation that much easier to talk about because like, _he and Brett kissed,_ and it wasn’t for the camera.

It was solely for themselves.

There was nobody to impress or elicit a reaction from besides each other… maybe that was why it was so much better than the first one they had, which _was_  only done for the cameras.

_Our first kiss **was**  only done for the cameras, wasn't it? _

 

Aleks sighs heavily before he downs the rest of the drink for some courage and he slams it down on the counter afterwards. “Stays between us, okay?”

“Sure, man.” James nods. “What’s up?”

“So like…” Aleks touches the tips of his fingers together and looks around the convention. “... I was drunk, right? Brett wasn’t like, really drunk, I don’t even think he was drunk but like… uh, I like…” He glances to James and licks along his lips before he quickly looks away. “I kinda… and he kinda…” Aleks huffs, looks up to the ceiling, and presses his lips together.

_Just fucking say it, holy shit._

Aleks closes his eyes and then clasps his hands together, slowly rubbing them back and forth before explaining, quite quickly, “so I kissed him and he kissed me back and it was real fucking nice but he stopped it and he thinks I did it because I was drunk and I was but like, I definitely wanted to do it too and I’m pretty sure I wanna kiss him again and do some other shit besides that.” Aleks opens his eyes and releases a long sigh to gather his energy back from the rambling before he looks down to James.

James’ eyes widen and he brings his head back, looking off to the side in contemplation. “Jesus christ, dude. I just thought you like, I dunno… threw up into the pool or something.”

“I would’ve been able to sort of talk about something like that.” Aleks blows out a breath and turns around to cross his arms on the counter. “Look, don’t tease me about this. I’m already having like, a crisis as it is.”

“I like teasing you about it when it’s not serious,” James explains. “But this is different. What does Geoff think about it?” James asks as he looks back to Aleks. “You told him, right?”

“Nah, we broke up like, last week,” Aleks corrects. “Me and him thought we went into it too fast. I’m not really in my feelings over it.”

It was as simple and easy as a breakup could get. Aleks still wishes they could’ve taken it slower but it was relatively nice while it lasted. Ultimately, it boils down to him and Geoff not being right for each other, nothing more, nothing less. They broke up and now Aleks wants to move on and get back in the game.

More specifically, he wants Brett to get inside him.

“Ooh… well… maybe you were trying to rebound?” James offers. “If you think Brett’s hot, then you know… a hot guy who’s right there, y’all are close, it’s not too out there.”

“Yeah, but I’ve like… been wanting to do this since…” Aleks makes vague, flippant hand gestures as he keeps his eyes to the counter. “Since uh, since the first time we kissed.”

“Ooh, that’s different too,” James hisses through his teeth.

“Yeah,” Aleks mumbles. “It’s a lot different.”

If he were still trying to rebound, he would’ve let this whole drunken night go but it still replays in his mind. Aleks is even starting to wonder if things might’ve gone differently if he was sober, because he remembers Brett telling him that he was just drunk, that he didn’t know what he was saying… but then, Aleks wouldn’t have kissed him if he were sober, because he would’ve fucking knew it’d be a bad idea to kiss him.

Only Brett doesn’t seem phased by the kiss at all. He hasn’t avoided Aleks and he’s actually brought up the night more than Aleks, who hasn’t discussed it in the slightest. So was it really a bad idea to kiss him?

 

Aleks looks up to see a new glass in front of him and when he looks over to his best friend, he sees him smiling with a knowing look on his face.

“It’s your favorite,” James says. “Go ahead and get drunk.”

An inkling of a smile tickles Aleks’ lips and he gives James a thanks before he stands up straight with his new drink in hand to take a sip - the traditional rum and coke. How can you go wrong with that? It gives him more liquid courage than that Prosecco, that’s for sure.

“Do you like him?” James asks. “Genuinely asking.”

Aleks almost chokes but saves it at the last second and he holds a hand gently to his throat. “Uh, Brett? No.” He shakes his head and takes another sip, licking his lips clean.

“But… you wanna fuck him?”

“Yup,” Aleks answers. “Real hard…” he sighs and slams his eyes shut as he takes another sip. “Fuck, I even told him that.”

“Oh shit, dude.” James blows out a breath. “What else did you tell him? You say some pretty out there shit when you’re drunk.”

“I know,” Aleks mumbles and lids his eyes open. “Dude, I told him fucking _everything._ I told him I used to like him and he was why I realized I was into guys and that I still thought about our kiss, that I wanted him to fuck me, all of that.”

“Jesus, you really told him everything,” James chuckles humorlessly and bites at his bottom lip. “But for what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem weirded out at all. He’s been as normal as he always has.”

“Cause he thinks none of what I said was true at all,” Aleks explains. “He thinks it was just crazy drunk shit.”

James scoffs and shakes his head. “Dude, Brett’s good at reading people. You don’t think he has even a bit of an idea?”

Well… that would make everything that Brett’s been doing have that much more sense to it. If he believed, even a little bit, that Aleks wanted more with him, then his sudden flirtations wouldn’t seem so sudden. But then it’d mean that Brett wants more with _him_  and Aleks knows he doesn’t, because he’s a professional and why would he ever want Aleks in the first place even though Aleks is, apparently, his type and has even admitted to finding Aleks hot and yeah, okay, maybe it’s not so unbelievable but it doesn’t matter.

They’ll never be able to do anything together. Aleks accepted that fact a long time ago.

“You said Brett kissed you back, right?” James asks and when Aleks nods, he continues. “Then maybe this isn’t this big, scary thing, you know? Maybe he wants what you want.”

“Bro, he don’t mix business with pleasure,” Aleks argues. “And after what happened with Jordan and Stef, I don’t blame him but like… it just won’t happen.”

“You guys could be different.” James shrugs. “It doesn’t always have to end up like that. Look at James and Elyse, Michael and Lindsay, Burnie and Ashley, those relationships are going pretty well.”

When did James become such a wise Buddha god all of a sudden? Everything he says is right and Aleks can’t even argue it for long. Those three couples work together just fine and it hasn’t disrupted the work balance at all. Nobody is uncomfortable with the relationships and it doesn’t hinder them or anybody else from working.

Besides, it would just be sex. That’s a lot less complicated.

 

“You really think me and him could just fuck and it’d be cool?” Aleks asks.

“Yeah, of course.” James nods and pats Aleks’ shoulder. “But I’m not the one who needs convincing in that area.” He gives Aleks a knowing look and when he looks up to see Trevor, he throws his hands in the air. “Trevor!” James exclaims. “Come on, we got a video to shoot!”

Aleks watches James walk off to meet up with Trevor and Joe halfway and Aleks fully slams his drink down his throat before he slowly picks up his feet to join them all.

As everybody talks about what they wanna film today at the Xbox One X showcase, Aleks drifts off into thought, many thoughts actually, and every single one is about Brett.

More importantly, how the hell he’s supposed to convince Brett that fucking his sweet ass wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.


	16. Swept In The Current

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett and Aleks go to the gym and do a little more than just exercise. There's also a little more to their interactions when they take a walk at the dog park after the podcast and somebody is taking heavy notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

**** **June 18th, 2017**

 

Brett tries to go to the gym in the mornings but sometimes, it actually helps to do it late at night so he’ll be exhausted enough by the time he gets home to have a good night sleep. The added bonus of going to the gym at night means there’s a lot less people around, in fact, there’s nobody he sees from his immediate vicinity. It’s just him, lifting the weights on this bench… and Aleks, who’s very slowly walking the treadmill.

Aleks offered to come along with Brett to the gym but he hasn’t really done much besides play on his phone and briefly try out the machines. It’s not like Aleks is new to the gym either so his behavior is kind of weird but not enough that Brett’s going to call him out for it.

 

After setting the weight back on the bench, Brett sits up and rolls his shoulders side to side before he hunches over to grab the water bottle lying at the foot of the bench. His eyes lid shut as he leans his head back to take a long drink and the refreshing water goes straight down his throat. His Adam’s apple bobs the more he drinks and with his head tilted back, it better exposes his chest to the gym’s lighting, which glistens off the beads of sweat.

Brett drops his head back down, lids his eyes open, and licks along his lips to gather every drop of water as he screws the cap back on the bottle before setting it back in the bag. Sitting up with a yawn, he looks over to Aleks and grabs the hem of his black tanktop to raise it higher on his heated body in an attempt to cool himself off.

“You gonna work out at all, dude?” Brett asks as he scratches at his abs with the other hand. “You’re barely touching that treadmill.”

Aleks just stares at Brett’s stomach for a few moments, eyes glazed over and lips parted open in a sort of trance. Brett huffs through his nose and a smile tickles the corner of his lips as he stands up from the bench to walk over to his treadmill. As Brett's hands slam down on the console, he exclaims, “HEY!”

Aleks quickly shakes his head out of his trance and stands up straight on the treadmill as he turns it off with a chuckle. “Shit dude, hey, what’s up?”

Brett narrows his eyes, curiously tilts his head, and rolls his lips back in brief contemplation. “Were you checking me out?”

“Uh, yeah, totally.” Aleks scoffs. “Real talk, I came with you to the gym just so I could check you out.”

“Okay.” Brett shrugs and looks over into the mirror, stretching his arms way up behind his head. “I know you’d never lie to me.”

He’s actually a bit surprised Aleks responded back with such wit because he hasn’t been doing that with Brett lately. Ever since Aleks called Brett out on being nervous whenever he hits on him (which Brett totally fucking was and still is because what if Brett says something that gives away his crush or doesn’t say anything at all and gives it away with his body language so it’s still a whole big thing),  Brett wanted to set forth on proving him totally wrong, that he doesn’t get nervous at all and, in fact, he can hit on Aleks just as much!

It’s almost troubling how easy it is to initiate the flirtations with Aleks. Brett doesn’t even have to think about it long, maybe about a second of thought before the words just flow out of his mouth and then he gets to see the look of surprise on Aleks’ face and the stuttering in his voice. Suddenly, Aleks is the nervous one and Brett is the confident one who gets to hide behind the excuse of “it’s just a joke, dude!”

_Just like me and Aleks ever getting together! Hahaha, life is pain._

 

“Ooh, hey!” Aleks hops off the treadmill to walk over to Brett, eyes trailing all over his arms. “Remember when you bench pressed me at the Creatures office?”

_Jordan laughs as he puts a hand on Aleks and Brett to push their sides together, looking to the camera before he looks to the two with a pointed finger. “Just look at the size difference there, man!”_

_Brett crosses his arms over his chest and looks to Aleks with a chuckle. “Yeah, it’s kinda hefty.”_

_“How much do I gotta pay you to benchpress Aleks?” Jordan asks._

_Aleks’ eyes widen quickly and he takes a step back with a nervous chuckle as Brett immediately drops to lie on the ground. “Woah, man, I’m not so sure-”_

_“Get up here, dude!” Brett tells him. “You trust Uncle Brett, don’t ya?”_

“Dude, that was way too easy,” Brett chuckles. “You weigh nothing.”

“Sooo what if you like, did squats with me on your shoulders? You think that’s doable?”

“That’d actually be easier,” Brett reasons while he lowers himself to the ground, patting at his own shoulders. “Hop on up, lemme show you how it’s done.”

“Just lemme take a pic for the ‘Gram first,” Aleks says as he slips his phone out of his pocket before he straddles Brett’s shoulders, his hands on top of his head. “We gotta save this moment in all its posterity.”

“Fair enough,” Brett chuckles and raises back onto his feet with no difficulty. “Be sure to tag me so all the pretty girls and boys can see and flock to me.”

“Like they don’t already?” Aleks holds up his phone in front of the mirror and stares down into the camera of it.

Brett gives a thumbs up right as Aleks snaps the picture of them. “I guess I’ve been getting more attention lately but I wish I could get it from more people I’m like, actually _interested_  in, you know?”

“Like who?” Aleks glances up into their reflection to look into Brett’s eyes.

“I mean, just more people my type,” Brett answers, lowering to his knees and tightening his grip on Aleks’ thighs as he raises back up.

_Like you._

Aleks gnaws gently at his bottom lip in thought, taps a thumb back and forth against his phone to aid with it, before he looks down at the screen without a word.

Brett looks at Aleks’ reflection for a few moments in an attempt to gauge his expression but when he can’t get a good read on him, he decides to watch himself. The muscles in his arms and legs flex as he tries to keep Aleks in a comfortable position on his shoulders whenever he lowers and raises back up but he almost loses balance when Aleks begins to stroke through the hair he has with his fingers, the nails gently scratching against his scalp. When Brett gets over the initial surprise, he fully settles in the comfort of Aleks’ surrounding warmth, the one constant he always feels with Aleks.

It’s been different between him and Aleks since that drunk night at Splash House, only by a small amount but that’s enough to make Brett question what Aleks feels for him. It’s true that you say crazy shit when you’re drunk but often times, that crazy shit is the truth. Whether it’s an always conscious presence or a hidden subconscious, these words aren’t just said for the hell of it.

It’s unbelievable to Brett that Aleks would want anything to do with him like that, still is, but Aleks said it himself that he does. He _wants_  Brett to fuck him and at the very least, he’s thought about it and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, that he wouldn’t entirely be against the idea if it was proposed.

So what exactly is Brett going to do with that information? Well, he definitely isn’t going to be slamming Aleks against a wall and tell him that he’s down to fuck anytime soon but he can show hints of awareness. It’s another reason why he’s been so much more open to flirting with Aleks, besides putting him on the much nervous side of the equation for once.

Brett knows that there’s something inside Aleks that’s telling him their sex wouldn’t be a bad idea and Brett just wants him to say it out loud so they can properly discuss it instead of easily casting it aside as some drunk nonsense. Brett doesn’t know what’ll happen after that but he’ll cross that bridge when they get to it, weeks or months from now.

 

 

“You know what’s bullshit, dude?” Aleks huffs as he taps at his phone screen before he turns his phone off.

_Our situation?_

“They give away my Hollywood apartment to some random chick but then they’ll send me a random email months later about the complex and shit, like, what even is the point? It’s like they wanna rub it in my face, like _‘haha, you don’t have a place, you homeless piece of shit!’”_

“You’re not homeless,” Brett scoffs. “You live with me, remember?” Brett digs his nails into Aleks’ legs and grins when Aleks hisses softly through his teeth.

“Ow, dude, yeah, of course.” Aleks frowns as he brings a hand down to feel at his thighs. “I can’t thank you enough for it, and you’ve been doing so much for me since… since we met but-”

“I know,” Brett says softly. “And I know what you meant... “ Brett trails off when he remembers a very important fact about Aleks’ stay with him.

_It’s only temporary._

“Dude,” Brett chuckles. “I like… I totally forgot you were just staying with me until you found a place of your own.”

“You’re not the only one,” Aleks mumbles. “Completely fucking forgot until just now. Fuck, I’ve been free loading, dude.”

“I don’t care, man.” Brett stands up straight to show that he’s fully done with his squats. “Honestly? I’ve had a lot more fun in LA with you then I ever have here. I’ve lived with other people and I’ve lived by myself but I dunno, things have been really good with you around. And…” He bites at his lips and drums his fingers against Aleks’ thighs in thought.

_You go any further, you might as well confess your feelings. Doth speak too much._

“Nah, nevermind.” Brett shakes his head as he backs up to the weight bench, slowly hunching down onto his knees so Aleks can sit on top the bench.

“What is it?” Aleks asks, staring at the back of Brett’s head.

“It’s cool,” Brett tells him as he takes a seat in front, adjusting the sweatband around his forehead.

“Breeett,” Aleks whines. “Tell me!”

Brett blows out a breath and looks up to the ceiling, cursing his internal strength for crumbling so quickly. “I just… you…” He bites at his cheek. “Look, I… I actually wouldn’t mind if you wanted to just stay with me for awhile. I’m having a lot of fun with you and I’m gonna be sad when you leave, if we’re being honest.”

Ever since Aleks has came to LA, that part of Brett’s life he felt he was missing has been filled. Brett doesn’t know what the hell he was missing either but whatever it was, Aleks came along, filled it right up, and Brett’s been in a consistently positive mood since. Even with all the annoyances along the way, all the doubts, the hidden feelings, it’s like the sun is always shining, always reminding Brett that it’s a beautiful day and there’s nothing to fret over.

Brett’s thumbs twiddle against each other and he watches with piqued interest. He tries to focus all his mind power on that but then he feels arms wrapping around him, a chin on top his shoulders, and when he looks up into the mirror, he sees that the reason for that is Aleks. Brett’s lips press together and after a deep breath, his lips slowly widen into a tranquil smile while he brings a hand up to rest over Aleks’ clasped ones.

“I don’t really wanna leave,” Aleks confesses.

Right now, the sun is shining brightly, brighter than it ever has. In a seemingly endless night, Aleks would be the sunrise.

 

“Then I guess you can stop looking for a place,” Brett tells him. “Not that you started but… you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, the only place I wanna look for is that pool in here. I saw it earlier but I really wanna check it out again before we leave.” Aleks suddenly lets go of Brett and drops his phone into Brett’s gym bag before he walks to the direction of the locker rooms. “You like the pool here?”

Brett can still feel Aleks’ arms wrapped around him and that familiar sensation of _home_  that came with it but despite that knowledge, he still misses him - even when Aleks is only mere feet away. It’s a simple problem to fix because all Brett has to do is leave the weight bench to follow Aleks to wherever the fuck he thinks this mystical pool is because Brett’s been frequenting this gym for awhile and he’s never heard of a pool here, what the fuck?

“Bro, they don’t have a pool here,” Brett scoffs.

“Yeah they do, I saw it fucking earlier when you were doing curls.”

“You saw it in like, a brochure they gave you or something because I’ve been here like, ever since I moved to LA and it’s not here.”

“Dude, it’s right through the locker room!” Aleks exclaims, right as he enters the locker room. “You just go through the other side and there it is, past the court!”

“Uh,” Brett chuckles, “no.”

“Just go through the locker room, man!”

“Aleks-”

“JUST GO THROUGH IT.”

“Did you get high before we came here?” Brett asks as he frames Aleks’ face in his hands. “Your eyes don’t look red-”

“Noooo, I’m serious!” Aleks whines as he takes Brett’s hands off his face but he keeps ahold of one of them, even intertwining their fingers together before he picks up speed to drag Brett along. “Look, just come with me!”

They held hands at E3 to get through a crowd but unlike this time, Brett didn’t feel his soul leave his body. It escapes through Brett’s body in a breath, one that Aleks squeezes out when he briefly squeezes his hand, and he watches from the outside as Aleks drags him through the empty locker room. It’s white tiled walls against white tiled floors, which is appropriate because Brett doesn’t feel like he’s on earth anymore but rather the clouds above.

Honestly? Brett likes it when he initiates that stuff better. At least he can prepare himself for the monumental task of _holding hands._

 

They leave the locker room and go past the court, down a hall to… _god fucking damnit._

“I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A POOL HERE!” Aleks exclaims as he lets go of Brett’s hand, gently pushing at his shoulder.

Yes, there is definitely a pool. Brett is definitely wrong. It’s actually a really fucking nice pool for a gym too and Brett sort of feels like he’s in a club instead. He can sort of feel the same kind of tension brewing between them like there was at that club too.

The tiles are very small and black and the walls are black as well with very small, white circular lights placed all over. There’s a rather big, rectangular blue light placed over the long edge of the pool and it reflects off the water, all the way down to the black pool floor, like the night sky found a physical embodiment in this gym.

“Alright,” Brett sighs. “You’re right.”

“You’re so stubborn sometimes, you know that? I don’t know why you were so defensive, it’s…”

Brett sort of zones out into the water as Aleks rubs his victory in his face. He hears a bunch of jibber jabber among the very clear “dudes”, “bros”, and “dawgs” that leave Aleks’ mouth and for the first time, he wants to shut Aleks up but once that boy gets going, it’s hard for him to stop. You light his fire and it’ll grow out of control, it’ll set the entire world in flames and not a thing can be done to stop it unless you literally tape his mouth shut or something along those lines and that’s when Brett decides to frame Aleks’ face with his hands before he captures Aleks’ lips with his own.

This is becoming way too common.

(Thank god.)

 

Brett presses in hard and Aleks’ hands reach up to instinctually grab at his wrists before his body relaxes. It’s not as life changing as their first kiss, or passionate like their second, but it’s unique in that, although it’s relatively short, it still retains as much power as the other two and Brett still feels like he’ll ascend into the high heavens if he isn’t too careful.

Aleks sighs through his nose and tilts his head but that’s when Brett suddenly pulls off, and he wipes the back of his hand against his lips while he stares into Aleks’ eyes.

_… at least I shut him up?_

Aleks presses his fingers to his lips and his eyes flicker up to Brett. He blinks a few times as he tries to comprehend the gravity of what Brett just did, but he realizes it pretty quick. “Dude, you kissed me.”

_Fuck, I need to shut him up again, quick, quick DO SOMETHING._

“Brett,” Aleks says, “you - WHAT THE FUCK!” he shouts as Brett tosses him into the pool.

Brett laughs maniacally as he watches Aleks appear from the surface of the water, like it’s the funniest fucking thing in the world and it actually kind of is, and he gets down on his knees to be somewhat level with Aleks. “Sorry, dude, I had to shut you - WOAH!”

While Brett doesn’t make a big splash like Aleks does, and his head barely dips under the surface, he’s just as wet as Aleks is now. With a huff, he looks over to Aleks, who is now waving over at him with a very smug grin on that very proud face.

_I really wanna wipe that stupidly hot grin off his face._

“You trying to go for a repeat of the other night?” Brett asks as he swishes forward to Aleks.

“You sure like to keep bringing up that night,” Aleks reasons. “Maybe you’re the one trying for a repeat.”

“Just a reminder, you’re the one that kissed me.”

“And you’re the one that returned it.”

Brett doesn’t think the pool is heated because it was rather cold when Aleks pulled him in but right now, it’s like the core of a volcano. The heat envelops his mind, shrouds it in a haze and he can’t think clearly through it but Aleks has had a bit longer to get used to this and so he goes on, much to Brett’s dismay.

“Also...” Aleks swishes forward to meet Brett halfway, their bodies mere inches apart. “You kissed me just now. You’ve kissed me a lot more than I’ve kissed you, actually.”

Brett feels so called out right now, probably because he is but it’s offensive! He says that like Brett wants to kiss him… okay, he does but not… what does Aleks know about what he thinks? He doesn’t know what Brett thinks at all but Brett, oh, he _knows_  what Aleks thinks and he refuses to be singled out.

“Who’s the one that confessed to having a crush on me?” Brett asks, tilting his head. “Along with a whooole slew of other things?”

Aleks swallows and breathes in deeply. He rolls his lips back before he lets them go with a smack. “I see you’re avoiding the subject.”

“Of what, me kissing you for the cameras or me kissing you to shut you up?”

“But you weren’t kissing me back because of those things a few nights ago.” Aleks raises his eyebrows knowingly at Brett. “So why’d you do it?”

It’s the million dollar question - why did Brett kiss Aleks as passionately as he did? The answer to that is simple but Brett has to briefly wonder what would happen if he told Aleks the truth. All of the things he could wonder previously if he told the truth, like Aleks cutting off their friendship and moving out, don’t seem to hold a lot of merit anymore.

Brett can tell Aleks the truth and get away with it, virtually unscathed.

 

“Will you leave me alone about it if I tell you why?” Brett asks.

“Maybe.”

“Well maybe I wanted to see what it was like to actually kiss you without a watching audience.”

“And what did you think?”

“Really wanna know what I think?”

“Yeah, try me.”

“I thought it was nice.”

“How nice?”

“Really fucking nice.”

“So what do you think it’d be like if we kissed each other sober?” Aleks asks as he places his hands on Brett’s shoulder, thus closing the distance between their bodies. “Actually kissed? Like, right now? Just you and me, nobody else?”

Brett’s eyes flash when he stares into Aleks’ and he catches the smallest glint of light in his dark brown color. Brett’s mind short circuits and quickly scatters to find a solution and soon, it finds itself in a chaotic datastream that links with Aleks’ mind, sends signals to the both of them that tells them to look down to each other’s lips.

Their lips are so close. So damn close. They’re maybe an inch away but it’s enough for them to breathe in each other’s air and Brett’s light-headed, Brett’s sort of dizzy, and he has to grab onto Aleks’ sides and curl his fingers into the wet fabric of his tanktop for anchorage so he doesn’t melt into the water but maybe that’d be a good thing because he could be all over Aleks if that happened, he could completely engulf Aleks and until Aleks’ senses are completely submerged in _him._

But right now, he wants to stay in this current state with Aleks. He wants to be a solid being with him - meld into _one_  solid being with him.

 

Brett’s chest slowly rises up and down and Aleks’ follows the same breathing pattern, in total sync. “Just me and you?” Brett asks in a tone just above a whisper.

“Yeah,” Aleks says in the same tone. “Just me…” He tilts his head and leans in. “... and you…”

_Kiss him._

“Just me, you…” Brett wets his lips and tilts his head the other way. “... and nobody else?”

Brett’s subconscious grabs ahold of him to steer his head and it makes him lean in, in the hopes that his and Aleks’ lips will finally meld together, in the hopes that they can be that one solid being and if it goes right, they can be so much _more-_

“HEY, THIS ISN’T A NIGHTCLUB!” shouts the security guard. “Either get dressed and use the pool for what it’s for or leave!”

Aleks pulls apart from Brett with a quickness he’s never used before in his life to swim towards the edge of the pool and Brett just stands there for a few moments with furrowed eyebrows as he gathers his thoughts.

_Did we almost kiss?_

“Yeah uh, we’re leaving,” Aleks says as he climbs out of the pool.

“Oh, um… what he said.” Brett swims to the edge to climb out as well.

The security guard rolls his eyes and exits the room to leave Brett and Aleks alone with each other once again but both now hold a more level headed state of mind.

Brett pulls at the hem of his shirt and wiggles it to shake off some of the water and he finds it so damn interesting how the water drips onto the black tiles below, like, it’s _way_  more interesting then the way he almost kissed Aleks.

 

There was absolutely no hesitation on Brett’s end, nor Aleks’. He was really about to kiss Aleks for the hell of it, not for the cameras or to shut him up but because he really just wanted to fucking touch Aleks all over and claim him for his own.

Brett almost got away with it. In the past, he might’ve thanked the security guard profusely for saving him from temptation but right now, he wants to throw him into the pool, demand to speak to a manager, and vow to never come here ever again before he files a very lengthy complaint.

Wouldn't you do the same if you were held back from kissing that pretty blonde twink you've had your eye on for awhile?

* * *

 

**June 26th, 2017**

 

A week later and Brett and Aleks have gone back to normal. No weird embraces in pools or anything like that, no discussions of that night or that drunken night before, just two dudes having a good, platonic time with each other and nothing else! Brett’s thoughts about Aleks hasn’t changed at all - as in, they’re still as sexual as they have been for the past few weeks, but at least they haven’t escalated.

His actions with Aleks are a different story, but at the forefront of Brett’s mind, he thinks they’re as normal as his thoughts are. In Brett’s defense, his definition of escalation in the actions department would be like… walking inside his and Aleks’ home, pushing Aleks against the wall, and pulling his pants down enough to eat his ass.

Which isn’t happening anytime soon so everything else not following those lines is fair game!

They’re in a completely different environment today compared to the few he and Aleks have frequented recently. For today’s 7th CCTV podcast, the Cow Chop crew has decided on the very public Hermon Dog Park and while the sun’s rays bake the grass and dirt pits, they lucked out on finding a nice little spot under a rather big tree that shades everybody as well as their pets.

The podcast goes relatively well with no difficulties and after everybody finishes up the loose ends to conversations, they pack up their things. Aleks helps to pack up as well but he stays behind to walk Mishka around the park and Brett stays along for the ride, purely so he can bond with Mishka. Mishka’s just… such a great animal, you know? She’s gorgeous and has cute brown eyes and on top of it all, she’s the most unique product of her species that Brett knows.

 

“Yeah, I’ll catch you guys at the office later,” Brett says as he looks to Lindsey and he furrows his eyebrows at the rather knowing look Lindsey is giving him. “What?”

Lindsey shakes her head and holds up her hands with a grin. “Nothing,” she answers. “Have fun with Aleks and your dog.”

“It’s actually his dog.”

“Uh huh.”

Brett just rolls his eyes and playfully dismisses Lindsey with a wave of his hand before he quickly jogs up to Aleks. With a smirk, he suddenly grabs Aleks’ sides to tickle him and Aleks laughs maniacally as he squirms in Brett’s hands.

“St-stop, stop!” Aleks laughs. “I-I’m not gonna let you walk Mishka if you’re gonna be a dick, dude.”

That’s enough to make Brett keep to Aleks’ side. He shoves a hand into the pocket of his jeans and holds out his other, twiddling his fingers in expectation. “Sorry. Can I have the leash? Please?”

Aleks shrugs. “You did say please,” he notes as he hands Brett the leash.

Wrapping the leash around his fingers, Brett smiles and allows Mishka to guide them through the park. They’re away from the cool convenience of the shade now and Brett’s still wearing that furry dog hat so he’s getting pretty hot but at least it’s not as hot as it was when they went to the Palm Springs desert a few days ago.

Seriously, sitting in 116 degree weather for an hour? What were they thinking? Even with him and Aleks blowing fans on each other throughout the podcast and reminding the other to stay hydrated, it did next to nothing in making that incinerating heat comfortable. The car ride back to the office was its own Hell too because it took awhile for the air conditioning in the car to kick in and everybody passed out halfway through the ride so Brett was mostly driving through in silence, only occasionally sneaking glances at everybody in the mirrors, especially Aleks, but whenever he looked Aleks' way the heat would somehow increase in the car and…

… well, it just wasn’t the best time near the end.

 

“Hey, weren’t you going somewhere in a few weeks?” Aleks asks as he looks to Brett.

“Oh yeah! Right, so I’m going to Shanghai and Sydney for the Overwatch World Cup.” Brett glances to Aleks and his body subconsciously sidles itself closer to brush their hands over each other.

_Grab his hand._

“So you’re like, covering it and stuff?”

“Pretty sure.” Brett nods. “For two weeks. I’m doing interviews, covering the games, all that stuff. They wanted you to come along but, you know, you’re still not allowed in other countries.”

“I’ll get that citizenship thing done soon. Some day…” Aleks shrugs and looks up into the light blue sky. “... eventually.”

The tips of Aleks’ fingers brush over the back of Brett’s hands ever so slightly and Brett’s fingers immediately curl at the slight jolt of electricity.

_Grab. His. Hand._

“You know what, let’s just elope in Vegas,” Brett says. “You already live with me so we could totally get away with a green card marriage.”

“I’m not wearing a dress.”

“If you ask me, you’d look pretty good in one.”

“I’d look way too much like a girl, dude.” Aleks chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. “If James or you wore a dress, then it’d be funny but when I do it… I just think it’d be too convincing.”

“Fair enough.”

In fact, it would be _extremely_ convincing. Aleks is very pretty and Brett has told him that it’s not a bad thing, doesn’t make him less of a man, but he’d pass way too well in feminine clothing, whether it’s a regular blouse, a bride’s dress… some panties and a cute baby doll… fuck, Aleks would look _so fucking hot_  in something like that! White panties with lace and a matching, flowing baby doll negligee that parts open down the middle to show off his stomach... you could put him in stockings too and Brett really wouldn’t be able to resist at that point.

_Why is Aleks so hot in everything? And can you please fucking GRAB HIS-_

“Hey, lemme see your hand real quick,” Brett says as he stops in his path to turn to Aleks and Mishka turns to look at the two as she sits on her haunches.

Aleks asks, “why?”, but still proceeds to give his hand to Brett.

“Just wanna compare sizes,” Brett tells him. “Simple curiosity.”

He knows damn well their hands are the same size but holding Aleks’ hand is the only way to stop his mind from constantly biting at him like a bloodthirsty bat.

“I uh, think yours is bigger.” Aleks swallows. “But I guess we should like, make sure.”

Mishka makes a displeased noise as she curls up on the ground, looking away from the two men to survey the dog park.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” Brett says as he holds his hand to Aleks’, lining up their palms and fingers and chuckling when everything lines up perfectly straight. “Well, guess our size difference doesn’t apply here.”

“It’s a good thing,” Aleks says, “because like, if I wanted to hold your hand, it wouldn’t fit, but…” He curls his fingers through the empty spaces of Brett’s fingers to effectively hold his hand. “See? They fit like-”

“Puzzle pieces,” Brett finishes with a soft voice as he curls his fingers against Aleks’. “Yeah. I get it.” He gently squeezes Aleks’ hand before he lowers them out of his eyesight and then he looks up into Aleks’ eyes the same instance Aleks looks into his.

Aleks’ face isn’t painted with colored lights or any artificial lighting this time around but rather the natural daylight of the sun. The sun casts a shine over his pale face and those dark brown eyes, illuminating them into a lovely amber color with specks of gold flickered throughout. Perhaps dark brown is one of the most common eye colors but on Aleks, it’s extraordinarily beautiful and Brett thinks, out of the many people in this world, he pulls it off the best.

 

“Dude,” Aleks says, “you have nice eyes.”

Brett chuckles and he smiles enough to show his teeth. “Thanks, I was uh… kinda thinking the same thing.”

“That you have nice eyes?” Aleks grins.

“That _you_  have nice eyes,” Brett repeats with another chuckle. “They’re just uh… I dunno, they just are.”

Aleks nods. “Yeah, totally,” he says as his eyes flicker to Brett’s lips. “But uh, thanks.”

Brett swallows and rubs the back of his neck, briefly looking down to Aleks’ lips but thankfully, Mishka’s barking tears his eyes away from that sight, as well as tearing his hand away from Aleks’ warm grip.

With a tug on Mishka’s leash, Brett asks, “what’s wrong?” and Aleks looks up to see a woman walking 3 dogs at the same time near them.

“She sees a buncha doggos.” Aleks pats Brett’s shoulder before pointing to the dogs. “Big ones too.”

“Mishka, they could eat you,” Brett tells her as he tugs the leash to steer her in a different direction.

He and Aleks divert into a rather normal conversation about dogs and other sorts of animals as they walk Mishka through the park and every so often, their hands will brush against each other but no action is taken from either of them. When Brett feels an urge, he just shoves his hand into his pocket and digs his nails into his thigh through his jeans for a reminder.

They’re rather focused on each other but there’s another person, a distance away, that can’t help but notice how close they are when there’s no reason to be.

 

James narrows his eyes at the two and purses his lips together, tapping his fingers against the car handle before he shakes his head.

_There’s something more going on with those two..._


	17. Classical Nova Sightings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unlike Aleks and Brett, James and Lindsey aren't oblivious at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things!
> 
> 1) This chapter is an interesting one and you'll find out why the first few lines in.
> 
> 2) It's another double upload week so come back here Friday at around 7 PM for Chapter 18!

**** **Rewind: September 1st, 2013**

 

James knew that Brett was going to be a very important part of Aleks’ life from the second time he and Brett met.

He himself has only met Aleks earlier that year but they’re on the same wavelength when it comes to their sense of humor. Aleks is more crass than he is and edgy but that’s what makes him a whole lot of fun to be around so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he and James became fast friends.

 

James and Aleks walk away from Brett but James catches Aleks looking back to him… for quite a long time that it stops being friendly. James squints his eyes as he observes his friend, who has an almost dreamy smile on his face with lit up eyes.

“Brett’s cool, right?” Aleks asks.

“Yeah, he’s cool…” James shoves his hands into his pockets, glances back to Brett, and he catches a glimpse of Brett looking at them before Brett suddenly looks away. “You uh, really like him. Don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Aleks chuckles and holds his hand over his heart. “He’s just… I dunno, he’s awesome. And he’s funny, he’s always giving me the best advice and shit.”

James figured out Aleks was bisexual pretty quickly too. It’s just the way he looks at some guys that made James wonder and sure, he wouldn’t look at those guys like he’s looking at Brett right now but James a rather observant person. To the chagrin of some of his friends, he’s _too_  observant.

“He’s not too bad looking either,” James adds, searching Aleks’ face for his reaction.

“He’s pretty hot,” Aleks confirms with a nod but he realizes what he said the moment it came out of his mouth and his eyes widen. “I-I mean, you know…” He scoffs and rubs the back of his neck, looking back at Brett. “Obviously.”

James chuckles and rests his hand on Aleks’ shoulder, following his eyesight to Brett, who is actively trying to do squats with somebody on his shoulders.

“Is he into dudes?” James asks. “I can see him being into that.”

Brett’s a muscular guy who takes great care of himself, who’s great at being passive aggressive, and he’s got that high voice too - all the stereotypes typically associated with a gay or bi dude, which isn’t exactly fair, granted, but James would be surprised if Brett wasn’t into dudes a little bit. He has this… this _vibe,_ like he’s just begging to fuck a dude of Aleks’ stature.

 

Aleks sighs and crosses his arms over his shoulders, looking Brett up and down before he averts his gaze. “No,” he says quietly. “He’s all about the pussy, man.”

“Mmm.” James nods to acknowledge his answer before he walks behind Aleks, grabbing onto his shoulders before he steers him forward and away. “You like him like _that,_ huh?”

“J-Just a little bit,” Aleks answers. “I’m trying to get over it. Fucking hate crushing on straight dudes, bro.”

“Stop thinking about it, dude,” James urges before he returns to Aleks’ side, an arm wrapped around his shoulder. “Enjoy the convention, play some games, then you and I can go back to my hotel room and we can get fuckin’ drunk off our ass.”

Aleks sighs and closes his eyes as he raises both of his fists in the air in victory. “Thank you, Jesus.”

“My name’s James, but I’ll take it.” James grins and yelps when Aleks hits his shoulder. “Ow! Dick!”

“My name’s Aleks, but I’ll take it.” Aleks winks and crosses his arms over his chest as he saunters away and James shakes his head before following after.

Aleks is nothing but trouble and James can barely keep him in line as it is. For Aleks’ sake, it'd be pretty cool if Brett realized he was into dudes after all so he can tame Aleks.

Tame Aleks with his penis, that is.

* * *

 

**March 9th, 2017**

 

“Trevor, how freezing are you right now?” James asks as he looks to Trevor and his totally inappropriate outfit for this cold Boston weather.

“Very,” Trevor says as he steps up to the counter.  “Let’s just stay inside Dunkin’s forever, dude, at least it’s not fucking Alaska in here. Okay, so can I get uhh...”

“As amazing of an idea that is, we gotta do PAX stuff tomorrow,” Brett says as he takes his wallet out from his pocket. “James, you want anything? I’m gonna get a coffee for Aleks, he looks like he’s freezing his ass off out there. I’m cold looking at him.”

“I’m good, man.”

Brett nods and looks up to the menu board to scan all the options. “So have you found a place in LA yet?”

“Indeed, I have,” James answers. “It’s a pretty nice place, got a pool in the back.”   


“You’re gonna continue your dreams as Scrooge McDuck, I see.”

“Bet you money when I tell Aleks that, he’s gonna say the same fuckin’ thing,” James chuckles.

“I’m not gonna bet against you,” Brett chuckles as he walks up to the counter to place his order.

James thought that he and Aleks were on the same wavelength but the more time he spends with Aleks, the more he realizes that this isn’t the case. Don’t get him wrong, Aleks is an awesome best friend but they’re interested in very different things and have varying ideas of what’s fun.

Aleks and _Brett,_ however, ride that wavelength together, hand in hand. They say similar things, have the exact same sense of humor, and they just seem to click, even though they live such far distances from each other.

 

“So has Aleks found a place?” Brett asks as he steps away from the counter with James to wait for his coffee. “He’s gotta find a place soon because the housing market is getting suuuper congested.”

“Right, cause of everybody moving down?”

“Mmhm, it’s crowded as it is so I hope he has a place lined up.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Worse comes to worse, he can live with me.” Brett shrugs. “What’s the worst that can happen, right?”

“You two realize you love each other and get married?”

Brett barks out a laugh as he takes his coffee and says, “that sounds like the plot of a long fanfiction.”

Is there even fanfiction of Brett and Aleks? All of the fanfiction seems to be centered around him and Aleks and James can’t exactly blame the writers because he and Aleks _do_ have a lot of chemistry together, so much that Brett thought they were a thing when James first met him but unfortunately,  James is pretty straight.

James doesn’t see Aleks that way at all, he never will, but there’s probably some other world where it’s a reality - just not this one.

* * *

 

**March 15th, 2017**

 

“Yo, Linds.” Brett pats Lindsey’s shoulder and then points across the bar. “That dude has been checking you out all night.”

Without looking up from her phone, Lindsey says, “he’s not my type.”

Brett shrugs and hops up on the stool beside her. “Fair enough.”

Lindsey finishes with her text and sets her phone on the counter before she grabs her martini. “You don’t gotta worry about me though,” Lindsey says. “I can handle myself - don’t let me stop you from getting laid.”

Lindsey’s not even looking to get laid tonight either. She just wants to get drunk with Brett and take it easy, why complicate that by adding a strange guy to the mix? Then she has to make sure she doesn’t say anything stupid, she needs to be sure to impress them, and she also has to make sure they’re not a creep and it’s such a hassle. The right guy will come to Lindsey when she least expects it.

 

“I’ve sort of been helping everybody lately,” Brett chuckles. “I wanna keep up the streak.”

“Mmm, how so?”

“Right, so Aleks told me he didn’t have a place to stay in LA and me, being such a good friend, offered my assistance-”

“Aleks is gonna live with you?” Lindsey interrupts with furrowed eyebrows.

“Just until he finds a place of his own, yeah. I can’t leave him stranded, you know?”

“You gonna fuck him?”

With an eye roll, Brett leans back in his stool. “And why would I wanna do that?”

“He’s your type with guys, right?” Lindsey licks at the sugar of her martini and smacks her lips. “You like those pretty boys?”

Brett adjusts his baseball cap and stares down into his open bottle. “Uh, yeah, I… I guess he’s my type.”

“So it works out!” Lindsey smiles brightly and pushes at Brett’s shoulder. “You’re both hot, horny guys living together! It all makes sense!”

Yeah, they’d be perfect together! Brett likes pretty boys and from the videos Lindsey has seen from Cow Chop so far, Aleks likes the big, strong guys so they’d be a wonderful fit! Aleks moving in with Brett seems to be a blessing in disguise!

“Nope, not happening.” Brett shakes his head and brings the bottle to his lips. 

… or one of them can be too stubborn.

 

“Why not?” Lindsey asks. “It’s just sex.”

“I’m not gonna compromise our entire workplace just because I wanna get my dick wet,” Brett answers. “It’s not a big deal, there’s tons of other people in this city I can get with.”

“As long as you’re smart about it, what’s the big deal?”

“Still not gonna risk it,” Brett sighs and hops off from the stool before he sets his bottle on the counter. “I gotta go to the bathroom real quick, I’ll save you from any creeps if you need it as soon as I come back.”

Lindsey rolls her eyes as soon as Brett turns his back and looks up to the football game playing on the screen. She has no idea what’s happening, just like she has idea why Brett is so averse to getting his dick wet in Aleks.

 

Personally, Lindsey doesn’t see the big deal in fucking around with somebody you work with. Sometimes it can be a mess but other times, it leads to happiness and why should somebody let work get in the way of that? Just to preserve some sense of professionalism, like if they give into an inner desire that it’ll suddenly lessen their work?

_ Guys are so stupid. _

* * *

 

**April 3rd, 2017**

 

It’s the first actual work day at the new LA offices but the only work James thinks will get done are desk and set placements. James doesn’t even wanna be here today but he has to because what kind of example would he set if he didn’t show up to work today with everyone else?

James is glad he isn’t alone in feeling tired because everybody else is from the long drive down from Colorado… all except Aleks, who actually has a glow to him.

 

Aleks sets his hands down on his desk, which is conveniently across from James. “Looks like you’re not getting rid of me just yet,” he chuckles and looks up to James, narrowing his eyes at the rather devious look James is giving him. “Uhh, you good, dude?”

“Did you and Brett fuck last night?” he teases.

Aleks’ eyes widen and a nervous laugh escapes his mouth. “Dude, what?”

“Did you?”

With an eye roll, Aleks replies, “oh yeah, we fucking went at it all night. He used a leash too. No, we fucking didn’t. Dude, what the fuck?”

“You just got a glow to you, man!” James exclaims as he stands up straight. “Like, I dunno how to explain it, you’re just… you glow.”

Aleks shrugs and crosses his arms on top his chair. “I dunno why then. Like… I’m still homesick but I feel like I belong in LA, you know? Like this is _my place_ to be.”

James purses his lips with a nod, finding this to be an acceptable answer.

“Also, Brett cooked some dope bacon.” Aleks raises his eyebrows suggestively with a nod. “Seriously. I didn’t even know vegetarians could cook dope bacon.”

James snorts. “Sounds like you’re adjusting pretty well then.”

“Hell yeah, you think you will?”

“Hopefully.” James shrugs. “Probably won’t adjust as soon as you did but it helps that you live with someone who’s been here for awhile.”

“Yeah, guess it does. Actually, that reminds me.” Aleks stands up straight and claps his hands before he rubs them together. “I gotta ask Brett where all the good liquor stores are.”

James watches Aleks run off towards the direction of Brett’s office and a smile tickles the corner of his lips.

_ He’s gonna be just fine here. _

* * *

 

**April 16th, 2017**

 

“You fuckers enjoy the rest of the night, okay?” Geoff holds up a peace sign. “Take it easy!”

James watches him speed off into the night with Aleks in the passenger seat. “Aleks is gonna be taking it pretty hard,” he mumbles to himself.

Good on Aleks for getting that dick! James is totally supportive! Geoff’s totally single now too so it’s the perfect time to jump back on him - literally. If they were trying to date, James might be a bit apprehensive but it’s just no strings attached sex! What is there to worry about?

 

They all walk inside the hotel and Brett looks past the hotel doors, his lips quirked to the side. “What’s going on with him and Aleks?”

“Yeah, why is Aleks leaving with Geoff?” Trevor asks. “Why isn’t he staying with us?”

“He’s uh…” James bites at his cheek and looks past the doors. “They’re uh… they’re just probably gonna get drunk together.”

“Isn’t Geoff trying to stay sober?” Brett asks.

“Ooh,” Trevor points to James.“He’s got you there,” he says as he walks to the vending machines at the other side of the hall while Brett and James continue down to the elevator.

Damnit, James knows he’s on the path to sobriety too but when you’re in a sudden interrogation, these facts escape your mind’s realm. James can make up for it though… somehow… just as long as he keeps changing topic. That or he finds a better excuse.

“I’m not trying to pry,” Brett says as he holds up his hands, “but I’m just looking out for Aleks and now that we live together, he’s sort of my responsibility. He’s kind of mine.”

James closes his eyes and his eyes widen underneath as he opens them again, looking right over to Brett. “Aleks is _yours?”_ he asks.

“Oh god, no, not like that.” Brett shakes his head and runs his hands down his face. “Nooo, no no, nothing like that.”

“Was gonna say,” James chuckles. “Look, have faith in him. We know Aleks can handle himself.”

“I just care about him a lot, that’s all.” Brett blows out a breath and looks to the elevator floor. “Sorry. It’s none of my business. Forget it, I’m just tired, I guess.”

James can totally forget all about it and Aleks would want him too… would he? Maybe Aleks wouldn’t mind it much if Brett knew about him and Geoff but regardless, it’s not James’ place to divulge in that information.

 

The ride up the elevator is silent and rather calming. James is prepared to walk right out to his hotel room and fall asleep because he’s been walking everywhere today when he’s not on camera filming DnD stuff, and that’s sort of been all day. He’s exhausted!

They walk out and James looks up to see Jon Risinger by Brett and Aleks’ hotel room, playing on his phone. As tired as James is, he sort of wants to ask why Jon is here so late at night but Brett’s doing it for him.

“Hey, Risinger, what’re you doing here?” Brett asks with a smirk as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

Jon looks up from his phone with a smirk of his own, shoving it into his pocket. “Just uh, waiting. This is your room, right?”

“Uh huh.” Brett takes out his keycard to stick in the slot. “After you.”

James crosses his arms over his chest and watches Jon enter Brett’s room, Brett following after. Brett turns to close the door and he and James make eye contact for a few seconds longer than normal eye contact calls for, enough for James to know that something suspicious is happening here.

When James wakes up in the middle of the night due to the loud noises from Brett’s hotel room, his suspicions are confirmed.

* * *

 

**April 20th, 2017**

 

James shoots awake from his seat when Aleks’ hands clap themselves hard on his shoulders.

“James!” Aleks exclaims. “My man! Lemme talk to you!”

“Aleksandr, I’m trying to get my quick nap in before we actually do our work.” James yawns. “What’s up?”

“You know where Brett is?” Aleks asks.

“Left to get Asher, Joe, and Trevor, apparently Joe’s car needs repairs.”

“Ahh.” Aleks nods. “So it’s just us?”

“Why do you want us alone?” James squints his eyes. “You trying to kiss me?”

“You’re not a bad looking dude but no.” Aleks hops up onto James’ desk, pressing his hands on the surface. “Yo, guess what Brett told me this morning.”

“He’s secretly your father?”

“No, dude, get this, he had a thing going on with Risinger. Like, Jon Risinger? Yeah, they totally hooked up!”

“Ohhhh.” James sits up straight in his chair. “So uh, they fucked, huh?”

“I thought they did but they just like, made out. Real tame shit.” Aleks shrugs and looks up to the ceiling. “But like, Brett’s been curious about guys, I guess. I had no idea.”

… is that what Brett told him? James remembers it differently.

_ James huffs and opens his eyes to look at the ceiling as Jon’s cries force him awake once again. _

_ “Like it when daddy’s deep like this, huh?” Brett moans and James hears the sound of a spank. “You’re such a good boy for him, baby.” _

“And uh, what does Brett think about guys now?” James clears his throat and crosses his arms over his chest, highly awaiting to hear whatever lie Brett told him.

“He’s not into them. Little bit of a bummer, honestly.”

“Right.” James nods. “So he’s not into guys? That’s what he told you?”   


“Mmhm.”

“And uh, what if he was?”

“Then… he’d be into guys?”

“So why is it a bummer if he’s not?”

Aleks blinks a few times and James purposefully copies him before they engage in an impromptu staring contest, but Aleks loses when he decides to hop off the desk to go to the fridge.

“Yo dawg, you want a water or something?” Aleks calls out.

James grins, closes his eyes, and rests his head back on his chair. “I’m good!”

_ The only thirsty one here is you. _

* * *

 

**April 24th, 2017**

 

Aleks leaves the couch to go to the bathroom which leaves James and Brett sat there alone with each other. After the conversation they all had about Aleks and Geoff, and considering James’ and Brett’s differing views, it’s just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

“You really think they’d be good together?” James asks.

“Why not?” Brett looks to James. “They’re the same person, it’d be perfect.”

“Weren’t you real worried about Aleks going out with Geoff a week or two ago?”

“Well…” Brett shrugs and crosses his arms behind his head. “Some things change.”

“Like…?”

“Uh, I didn’t know Aleks liked Geoff before. But he does so he should go for it. Life’s too short, you know?”

James looks off in Aleks’ direction, shaking his head. “I dunno, I’m pretty sure that was lust. Those two get confused a lot.”

“Remember what you told me?” Brett grins. “Have faith in Aleks? Because Aleks can handle himself?”

How dare he throw James’ own words back in his face! What a smart tactic! Except he’s still in the wrong.

It’s like James said, Geoff is a great guy but many people are great and not fit for relationships with certain types. He’s not a relationship expert or anything but he’s seen more Rooster Teeth videos then Aleks has and he’s a lot more observant to little things too, moreso than anybody else.

So he sees the lingering looks Geoff and Gavin give to each other and all those touches, all those throwaway comments that _really_ aren’t throwaway comments, and there’s always this suffocating tension whenever the two are near that everybody else gets sucked up in it. James didn’t even see those two for a full few minutes in Austin a few weeks ago and he almost choked on their tension.

Of course, most people don’t notice the things he does so he shouldn’t be surprised. He just hopes Aleks and Brett figures it out on their own eventually. It’d suck if Aleks had high expectations for their relationship and ended up dating Geoff only to call it off a few weeks later because of something like that.

James hopes they prove him wrong.

* * *

 

**May 8th, 2017**

 

Lindsey is a white girl that loves Starbucks and she’s proud of it, god damnit! If she wants an ultra caramel frappuccino with two extra pumps of caramel and a pump of vanilla, then she’s gonna treat herself and get it! Unfortunately, she’s too tired at the moment to go out and get it but thankfully, Brett had to make a quick run for batteries so he promised Lindsey that he’d come back with Starbucks for her.

Brett’s a great friend. One of Lindsey’s best.

It’s because he gets her Starbucks.

And also because he’s there for her anytime she needs a shoulder to cry on or when she needs to go apartment hunting. Or when she needs somebody to go bar hopping with. Honestly, there’s many more reasons than Starbucks but god damn, if that isn’t a big part.

 

Her eyes brighten when she sees Brett walk in with a drink carrier holding two Starbucks cups and she quickly climbs out of her seat to rush over. “Ooh, you’re back!”   


“Yup! And I got you a chocolate frappuccino! You’re welcome!”

“Aww, Brett, I wanted ultra caramel.” Lindsey frowns as she takes the drink. “But… this is fine.”

“Shit, sorry.” Brett frowns a little. “I just knew you wanted some frap.”

“I saw you got yourself something though,” Lindsey notes as she looks to the other drink, furrowing her eyebrows. “You got something hot?”

“It’s not mine, it’s Aleks’,” Brett answers.

“Yo, you got me Starbucks?” Aleks stands up from his chair and walks on over. “What’d you get me?”

“Your stupid fucking hot chocolate with 1 pump of everything. How do you not have diabetes yet?” Brett asks as he hands Aleks the drink, gaze dipping to Aleks’ lips as he takes a sip.

Aleks licks his lips clean with a small, almost bashful smile. “Just lucky, I guess. But thanks, you didn’t have to.”

Lindsey tilts her head and eyes Brett curiously, even though Brett’s too fucking busy staring over Aleks to notice.

 

They’ve known each other how long now? And how long has Aleks lived with him? He can remember his drink order but not Lindsey’s? Lindsey isn’t even mad, no, she finds it really fucking interesting because you know what kind of person can remember another person’s complicated drink order?

A person who likes them.

More specifically, a person who _like_ likes them.

* * *

 

**May 22nd, 2017**

 

James’ eyes widen as he watches Brett shove his tongue into Aleks’ mouth and for some reason beyond his understanding, he can’t stop watching.

Brett is… he is uh, really getting into this kiss. James was expecting a small peck, like one would give a family member, but this is the kind of kiss you give a girlfriend or something. This is _not_  a simple kiss at all.

Brett’s not the only one into it either because Aleks’ tongue is sliding against his and the more James watches, the more he feels like he’s taken a front row seat to a gay romance movie. Or a gay porn. But like, one of those softcare gay porns where they take their sweet time with each other.

After what seems like an eternity, Aleks pulls away and James’ widened eyes blink a few times as he’s brought back to reality, not that he ever left in the first place. James clears his throat and looks away, scratching the top of his head. “Shit, dude, that was better than I ever could’ve done.”

But that's also because  James isn’t willing to make out with Aleks like his life depends on it.

 

After Brett announces the end to CC TV, he walks over to behind the camera to inspect it and Aleks stumbles over to James with his fingers still pressing on his lips.

“You good, dude?” James asks.

“... I think,” Aleks says softly as he looks over to Brett. “Did I kiss Brett?”

James snorts and nods. “Big time.”

“Oh… yeah.” Aleks nods and presses his hand more into his shoulder, the one that Brett was touching in their kiss. “People are uh, really gonna be seeing that, huh?”

“Thousands of ‘em,” James answers. “So many thousands.”

“And it’s gonna be uploaded and stay like, forever on the internet?”

“It’ll always be on our channel, never to be taken off. Your first kiss with Brett will forever be saved in posterity.”

Aleks finally takes his fingers off his lips. “People can just like, watch it whenever?” He immediately looks away when Brett looks to him and scratches the back of his newly bleached head.

“I think the oil fumes are getting to you.” James stands up and rests a hand on Aleks’ shoulder.

“Yeah,” Aleks concurs. “Me too.”

The oil fumes aren’t even heavy but James will let Aleks think that’s all it is, that these oil fumes are what’s making him act like he’s in a different planet.

* * *

 

**May 23rd, 2017**

 

“So Geoff, you want a…” James trails off as he grabs a random can, reading the label. “La Croix? I think this is Brett’s favorite.”

“Sure, I’ll give it a try,” Geoff says as he takes the can to open it. “So how’s it going? You liking LA so far?”

“Eh, it’s alright.” James shrugs as he takes a water for himself. “It’s out of my comfort zone but I just gotta look on the positive side. I gotta find ways to make LA worth it, you know?”

“Ooh, I like that attitude. But you’ll get used to it, it’s still super new, right? You’ve been here like, a little over a month?”

“Damn, already?” James chuckles. “Time goes by fast.”

“Feels like yesterday I just started dating Aleks,” Geoff says. “Been real good though, pretty glad he’s mine.”

You know what, Aleks _does_  seem pretty happy with Geoff. James feels bad that he thought it wouldn’t work out in the first place and admittedly, he still has a doubt lingering around but Aleks’ happiness does a good job squandering that.

Though Gavin’s presence here does make that doubt come back to life. What _is_ he doing here anyways?

 

“Yeah, you make Aleks really happy.” James nods as he takes a sip of his water. “It’s cool you came out here to see him. You uh, bring Gavin along to show him around LA or something?”

“Gavin’s actually here on business. He brought me along, if we’re being honest.”

“Ohhh, so you’re sort of using him to be around your boyfriend?” James grins. “That’s smart.”

“Actually…” Geoff hisses through his teeth. “I’m sort of helping him with his business. I won’t be around Aleks too much, huge fucking bummer but even though I’m on sabbatical, I’m still on that work grind, you know?

Ahh, well that’s kind of different. Still, Geoff’s taking time out of his busy schedule to see Aleks at least once and that’s something to be admired. James really had this all wrong, didn’t he?

Maybe Geoff and Gavin don’t like each other in that way, after all. It wouldn’t be the first time James has been wrong with his observations - it’s still rare, but it happens.

 

“I feel ya, man.” James nods and screws the lid back on his water before he opens the fridge to shove it back in. “It’s cool you’re making time for him though.” And as he closes the door, Gavin suddenly jumps from behind it and it startles Geoff, causing him to jiggle his can and the liquid splatters over his shirt.

“Gavin, god fucking damnit, you disaster of a fucking human being,” Geoff teases.

“You’re the one that made a mess all over yourself,” Gavin says as he grabs some napkins from the counter. “Lucky for you, I’m nice enough to clean it up.”

“Good, cause I ain’t.” James nods at Geoff. “Good luck with that.” He says as he walks away from the two, occasionally looking back.

“Hard to have good luck with this one here,” Geoff mumbles as he watches Gavin pat at his shirt.

“You know you love me,” Gavin says as he looks up into Geoff’s eyes with a small smile. “What would you even do without me?”

“Probably crash and burn, if we’re being honest.” Geoff chuckles.

James purses his lips and turns his head around fully, looking down to the ground.

_ … they **are** just friends. Right? _

* * *

 

**May 24th, 2017**

 

“Lindsey, seriously, you look soooo good tonight!” her friend, Torrie, exclaims. “That top works for you!”

Lindsey smiles and looks down to her red top with a plunging neckline before she holds her boobs together. “Thanks, it really makes my boobs pop!”

In fact, she’s been getting quite the attention of guys all night long! Sadly for them, she’s just here to hang out with her friends. Well, one of them was pretty hot but Lindsey doesn’t know where the hell he went off too. That’s okay! There’s plenty of more fish in the colorful sea of this club!

“Woah, Lindsey.” Torrie pats her shoulder to get her attention and points to a certain two people. “Aren’t those your friends?”

“Hmm?” Lindsey follows her finger and her eyes widen when she sees Brett’s hands grabbing onto Aleks’ hips and Aleks gyrating his ass back and forth against Brett’s crotch. Brett’s mouth is hovering right over his ear but then it slides below, his beard grazes Aleks’ neck and Aleks tilts his head to the side to give him more access and  _ I’m watching a gay porn right now, this is literally gay porn. _

“Oh.” Lindsey smiles a little and nods. “Yup. Definitely them.”

_ About fucking time though. _

“Are they together?” Torrie asks. “Cause if they’re not, they should be.”

“No, cause Brett’s like, _ ‘ughh, we work together, that’s weird, I’m Brett’, _ and like, dude, who fucking cares?” Lindsey scoffs. “If you had a hot coworker, you’d fuck them, right?”

“Uhh, hell yes?” their other friend, Melissa, chuckles. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well they’re guys so they’re stupid and think it’ll be a big fucking deal.” Lindsey turns her head to see Brett and Aleks making their way over and she touches the shoulder of both of her friends. “Play cool, like we weren’t just talking about them.” She puts on a sweet smile as Brett and Aleks make it within earshot and when they’re up close, she sees that Brett’s hand is right behind Aleks’ back.

 

“You guys having fun?” Brett asks.

“Oh, for sure. Looks like you two were having some fun too, a lot of it,” Lindsey giggles.

“He made me dance with him to get my hat back.” Aleks pats the baseball hat on his head. “He’s a dick.”

“You seemed like you were enjoying yourself,” Lindsey notes. “Was it really that bad?”

“Yeah, c’mon.” Brett gently pushes at Aleks’ back and looks to him. “I did a good job.”

Aleks looks down to the floor and adjusts his hat. “Not saying it wasn’t.”

Lindsey squints her eyes and grins, batting her eyelashes rather innocently. “Well. You guys wanna get some drinks?”

“I’M RACING YOU, ALEKS!” Brett announces as he races off to the bars.

“DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK!” Aleks quickly follows. “YOU CAN’T ANNOUNCE A RACE LIKE THAT, BRO!”

Torrie watches them go with a wary smile and gives Melissa a knowing look. “Yeah, they’re cute.”

Lindsey scoffs and shakes her head. “Good luck making them see that.”

* * *

**June 5th, 2017**

 

James comes back to work this morning and he already feels viscerally uncomfortable.

He isn’t sure why either. Nothing has changed about the office and James isn’t feeling differently about work, everybody is still talking with each other the same as they always have, so why does it feel like something is crawling up his spine and he has no way of removing it?

The tension becomes harder to bear the closer Aleks and Brett get to him. Aleks is drinking a Coke Zero and Brett’s arms are crossed over his chest and they’re both looking directly at James. James isn’t looking at them but he can feel their stares burning into his body and he has to take off his jacket to cool off.

Though that’s probably the LA heat.

 

After removing his jacket, he takes off his headphones to set them to the side. “May I help you two?” James asks as he looks over to the duo.

Aleks opens with, “so let’s say-” but Brett interrupts him.

“Let’s say you’re having doubts about… somebody,” Brett says. “Like a friend. You would tell them, right?”

James looks to Aleks and sees the annoyance etched into his facial features in his pressed lips and squinted eyes. He swallows and looks to his screen with a shrug. “Uh, keep going. I need more information.”

“Alright, but your friend tells you something that makes you think otherwise, like you shouldn’t be doubting them. Would you still voice it?” Aleks asks.

“Hold on,” Brett chuckles, “I don’t think that’s exactly what happened.”

“Ignore him.” Aleks holds up a hand. “You wouldn’t tell your friend this doubt if they reassured you otherwise, right? Because what would be the point?”

“But you can’t just suddenly change your mind like that!” Brett says as he pushes down on Aleks’ hand. “It’s not how that works!”

“Not for you and your friends but it does for me and mine.”

“You are…” Brett shakes his head and looks to James. “James, what do you think?”

James keeps his gaze on his computer screen, not daring to look either of them in the eyes. “I think… I uh… well-”

“James, hey!” Lindsey rushes over to grab James’ shoulders to pull him up from his chair. “Can I talk to you real quick?”

Lindsey is very smart and James very much appreciates her company. In a warehouse full of other men with a tendency to be chaotic, Lindsey is a breath of normal fresh air and she sort of keeps James sane.

 

“Absolutely!” James grabs his phone from the desk and shoves it into his pocket. “Whatever do you need?” he asks as he and Lindsey quickly walk away towards the lobby of the warehouse, away from the source of all this uncomfortable tension.

Lindsey looks back to make sure nobody else is around and then looks through Brett’s office before she blows out a breath. “Okay, we’re safe. I don’t know why but they’ve been really weird around each other. There’s this like, really heavy, unsexy tension.”

“So it’s not just you?!” James sighs and runs his hand down his face. “Thank god, I don’t even know what the fuck they’re talking about but I want no part.”

“You wanna get Starbucks?” Lindsey asks. “We can get out of here and get some awesome coffee. My treat.”

“It’s cool, I’ll pay for us,” James says as he follows Lindsey out of the warehouse. “I just need to get the fuck out of here.”

Stay in a warehouse that’s filling up with tension not of the sexual kind between his two male friends or go out for coffee with a pretty girl? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

* * *

 

**June 14th, 2017**

 

Lindsey stays out to film Brett and Aleks as everybody else heads inside the store for their video game merchandise. They lucked out in finding such a cool spot in China Town, huh? But they’re sort of taking awhile to shop around so the three of them do something any other normal group of friends without social anxiety do to pass the time - have a conversation.

“Hold up, I don’t like where you have your mic,” Aleks says as he steps closer to Brett, placing one hand over his chest while the other fiddles with his mic.

Lindsey grins as she looks into her camera lens, shaking her head. “I swear, you two are like a married couple sometimes.”

In fact, he and Aleks have been pretty close the past few days. Aleks seems to be making more excuses to be around him and go into his office and Brett is always dropping stuff off at his desk or lingering around for longer than necessary. Lindsey finds it sort of questionable because she’s _pretty sure_  Aleks and Geoff are still a thing but they got that open relationship - maybe it’s open in uh, every aspect?

 

Brett snorts and looks down to Aleks’ hands. “Right now, I can’t really argue with you on that.”

“I’m adjusting your mic, bro, there’s nothing to look into,” Aleks says as he finishes adjusting Brett’s mic, though his hands still stay over his chest and his fingers graze over the hairs. Brett doesn’t seem to mind. “Besides,” Aleks continues, “you adjust shit on me all the time, like picking fuzz off of me and fixing my hair and shit.”

“I can’t look out for you?” Brett chuckles.

A small smile makes its way onto Aleks’ face and he looks the other way as he takes a hand off Brett’s chest, moving the other to rest on his shoulder. “I guess I can’t really complain about that.”

“And I wasn’t complaining either,” Brett says.

“Maybe Lindsey’s right about us being a married couple.” Aleks looks into her camera lens. “Hey guys, me and Brett are married. Tune in next time on CCTV, live from me and Brett’s home and you all can see our daily routine with each other.”

“All the PG friendly stuff, anyways,” Brett adds.

Lindsey tilts her head and puts a hand on her hip. “And how does Geoff feel about all of this?”

Aleks grits his teeth together and lets go of Brett to cross his arms over his chest. “We broke up like, last week. Can you keep that off the actual podcast though?”

_ … well that certainly explains why they’ve been so close. _

* * *

 

“I like teasing you about it when it’s not serious,” James explains, “but this is different. What does Geoff think about it?” James asks as he looks back to Aleks. “You told him, right?”

“Nah, we broke up like, last week,” Aleks corrects. “Me and him thought we went into it too fast. I’m not really in my feelings over it.”

So here’s what just happened: Brett and Aleks made out a few days ago at that Splash House Party and last week, Aleks dumped Geoff, and James, his best friend, is just now finding out about it all.

_Somebody_ has been doing a great job in keeping Aleks distracted, it seems.

 

“… maybe you were trying to rebound?” James offers. “If you think Brett’s hot, then you know… a hot guy who’s right there, y’all are close, it’s not too out there.”

And it makes so much sense! Why the fuck doesn’t he just go and fuck Brett! He used to crush on Brett too so this is his chance, ugh, it’s right there in front of Aleks, why doesn’t he just take the chance!!

“Yeah, but I’ve like… been wanting to do this since…” Aleks makes vague, flippant hand gestures as he keeps his eyes to the counter. “Since uh, since the first time we kissed.”

_ No fucking shit. _

In a weird way, he’s proud of Aleks for kissing Brett, moreso for his younger self that pined so openly for him, but he’s just a bit frustrated because the solution here is obvious - he needs to fuck Brett.

So James decides to buy Aleks his favorite form of liquid courage and he watches as Aleks quickly takes it with a smile, waiting for him to get situated again before he asks, “do you like him? Genuinely asking.”

Aleks almost chokes but saves it at the last second and he holds a hand gently to his throat. “Uh, Brett? No.” He shakes his head and takes another sip, licking his lips clean.

“But… you wanna fuck him?”

“Yup,” Aleks answers. “Real hard…” he sighs and slams his eyes shut as he takes another sip. “Fuck, I even told him that.”

… maybe he doesn’t need liquid courage. Especially when Aleks reveals that he told Brett _everything_  so it seems like his subconscious is already ahead of the game.

“... he thinks none of what I said was true at all,” Aleks explains. “He thinks it was just crazy drunk shit.”

Yeah, like James is going to believe _that._ If a friend of his got drunk and confessed to James that he used to crush on him and wanted James to rail him, James would have serious doubts that it would just be some _“crazy drunk shit”._  That’s the oldest excuse in the book !

James scoffs and shakes his head. “Dude, Brett’s good at reading people. You don’t think he has even a bit of an idea? You said Brett kissed you back, right?” James asks and when Aleks nods, he continues. “Then maybe this isn’t this big, scary thing, you know? Maybe he wants what you want.”

Because James wouldn’t kiss somebody back if he didn’t wanna do _something_  with them.

_ They’re so fucking stupid. _

Although Aleks seems to be kind of aware that Brett might want something, only Brett is too _stupid_  to cast his doubts aside and just fucking go for it and James sort of gets it but like… who cares?

“Bro, he don’t mix business with pleasure,” Aleks argues. “And after what happened with Jordan and Stef, I don’t blame him but like… it just won’t happen.”

“You guys could be different,” James shrugs. “It doesn’t always have to end up like that. Look at James and Elyse, Michael and Lindsay, Burnie and Ashley, those relationships are going pretty well.”

Besides, it would just be sex. That’s a lot less complicated.

 

“You really think me and him could just fuck and it’d be cool?” Aleks asks.

“Yeah, of course.” James nods and pats Aleks’ shoulder. “But I’m not the one who needs convincing in that area.”

They all know it. They all know it’s a thing that should happen. But the one roadblock in this equation is Brett fucking Hundley and his stubborn, professional ass.

* * *

 

**June 22nd, 2017**

 

“Hey, James!”

James looks up to see a smiling Lindsey with his water and her hair is tied up in a high ponytail, sunglasses high on her head.

_ She looks really nice. _

James smiles back as he holds out his hands. “Shit, I can’t believe I forgot my Bubba in there!”

“Yeah, with how hot it is, I wouldn’t wanna leave that in the car,” Lindsey chuckles as he hands him his water and she continues down the path. “You look good today, by the way!”

James’ heart flutters high enough to pull up one corner of his lips into a lopsided smile before he takes a long sip of water. His head tilts back and he releases a satisfying sigh as the satisfaction floods through his body. He shouldn’t have worn a black shirt and shorts to the desert but he’s stocked up on cold water so he thinks he’ll fare well for today’s podcast.

Or maybe he should have if certain people think he looks good in it. It’s a price he can pay right now.

 

James turns around to see Aleks applying sunscreen on Brett’s chest and he can’t help but grin.

_ Yeah… you rub that sunscreen in there. _

Brett takes the sunscreen and squirts a little onto his hand as he dabs it down the bridge of Aleks’ nose and then his cheeks. He wipes the rest off on his own shoulder and closes the cap with a smile before he wraps an arm around Aleks to steer them up the path and that’s when James quickly joins everybody else - like he wasn’t watching his best friend and his… crush?

_Does_  Aleks have a crush on Brett? Or is it purely sexual?

Soon, everybody is at the podcast spot to set everything up. James puts down his chair and then goes over to help Trevor set up the camera.

“So like, let us know if it starts to overheat,” James says. “It should flash on the screen with like, a warning that it’s getting too hot.”

“Okay, sure.” Trevor nods.

James looks into the lens to see Aleks setting down his chair in the blazing hot sun and that’s when Brett suddenly stabs the umbrella into the ground to shade Aleks, in the most convenient moment possible.

“You need water or something, dude?” Brett asks as he raises a hand high on the umbrella rod. “Or a fan? You’re wearing pants and it's sort of worrying the fuck out of me.”

“You want me to take them off?” Aleks smirks up at Brett.

“Are you guys gonna get a room?” Trevor asks as he looks up to the two. “Can you make sure it has AC though? Cause it’s fucking hot.”

“Hey, uh, are you gonna fucking cover your cameras so it doesn’t overheat and ruins the podcast?” Aleks asks as he crosses his arms over his chest.

He and Trevor continue to bicker as Trevor goes to find a camera cover but James gives Aleks the most knowing look in the world and when Aleks looks back to James, he sort of ducks under his stare to sit down in the chair.

“You guys kissed on one podcast,” Lindsey says. “Might as well do it again.”

“I’ll leave you guys here and go home with Aleks!” Brett warns. “Don’t make me do it!”

“That’s a good idea,” James says. “No point in getting a room if you have a whole house.”

“Hey.” Brett stalks towards James. “What if I just fucking pour out all that cold water?”

James shakes his head quickly. “I will stay completely quiet until the podcast then!” He walks over to his chair, holding tightly onto his Bubba.

It still doesn’t change the fact that one of them needs to make a move already.

Like, yesterday.

* * *

 

**June 26th, 2017**

 

Lindsey hops into the front seat and shoves her hand into her purse to take out the keys… only to not find them. What the fuck! Things don’t just… disappear! She had them in here a minute ago!

With a huff, she exits the car and squints her eyes in focus at the ground. She can only hope that a dog at this park didn’t eat it because it can only come out one way and honestly, Lindsey doesn’t wanna deal with that mess. Lindsey comes around to the other side of the car to see James looking off into the park and she curiously furrows her eyebrows underneath her sunglasses.

 

“What are you looking at?” she asks.

“They’re holding hands,” James says.

Lindsey follows his eyesight to see Brett and Aleks in the park, one of their hands holding onto each other, as they gaze into each other’s eyes.

_ Jesus. Fucking. Christ. _

“They’ve been really close,” Lindsey says. “Too close.”

“You’re fuckin’ telling me,” James scoffs.

They both laugh as Mishka’s barking brings the two from their trance and Lindsey sighs, shaking her head while she looks to the ground. “One day, they’re gonna realize it. Just hope that day is soon… ooh, here are my keys!” She beams as she hunches down to take the keys from the ground, giving a jiggle. “Now we can leave!”

“They need some more alone time anyways.” James steps inside the car and sits down in his seat.

“Who does?” Trevor asks.

“They’re talking about Brett and Aleks,” Asher says. Then, he squints his eyes and looks to James. “Right?”

“Are we talking about Brett and Aleks?” James asks. “What if I’m talking about you and Trevor?”

“Me and Asher have enough alone time,” Trevor says as he sits back in his seat. “Can we go?”

“Settle down, children.” Lindsey closes her door and sticks the keys in the ignition. “Or we won’t get McDonald’s.”

“Not Starbucks?” James asks, laughing when Lindsey shoves his shoulder.

_ He’s such a dork… but he’s a real cute one. _

“No McDonald’s now.”

But then everybody starts to whine and god fucking damnit, Lindsey can’t deny them McDonald’s now. Brett would have the willpower to say no but thankfully, he’s not here right now. He’s too busy trying to get into Aleks’ pants and what’s worse? He doesn’t even _know_  that’s what he’s doing.

Lindsey wonders if she can make a bet with James on when they’ll make out. She could win good money!

* * *

 

**Fast Forward: July 7th, 2017**

 

They’re all on 6th Street in Austin, Texas to celebrate Joe’s birthday and the night has been hectic. How hectic?

Well at one point, James looks away from Aleks and Brett, maybe for only like, 5 seconds, and when he looks back, he sees the two of them holding onto each other and heavily making out, and J ames wonders how the fuck it got to that point, where they're embracing each other on a very crowded street and making out with each other with no care in the world.

It seems so sudden and more things had to have happened before this point for it to make sense and be this big, satisfying conclusion, but then he thinks about the 100 bucks that Lindsey owes him and he has to stop and smile.

However Aleks and Brett choose to get together, James is just glad to be 100 bucks richer. It definitely pays to be super observant.


	18. Whisper To The Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett enjoy July 4th together, the last day before they head off to Austin for RTX, and Aleks learns a few very important things about Brett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I really like Asher. Like, I like him bunches. He's the best. The bestest. And yes, that's very relevant to a small thing that happens in this chapter. Look at this as a disclaimer, if you will.
> 
> ...
> 
> ......
> 
> :)

**July 2nd, 2017**

 

“There you go, Mishka.” Aleks opens the door to the backyard and watches Mishka sprint into the yard. “Go crazy.”

“Hey, make sure she stays away from the back!” Brett calls out as he looks up from his plants. “I just planted some shit back there.”

Aleks gives Brett a thumbs up with one hand and he walks over to Brett to hand him a La Croix with the other. “I gotchu, dawg.”

“Ooh, you _do_  got me.” Brett grins, wipes his hands off on a clean patch of his dirty jeans, then reaches up to grab the can to snap open the cap. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Aleks says as he sits down at the table.

He stares at Brett as he drinks from the can and Brett’s eyes are closed so he doesn’t even notice the way Aleks is watching him, like a predator calculating his prey’s movements. Aleks knows he can’t stare for too long though, lest he wants Brett to catch him like he did at the gym a week or two ago...

_Aleks watches the beads of sweat trail down the faint line of Brett’s abs, how his fingers graze along his hairs and catches the beads. A hot breath is taken from his lips and his fingers clench tighter on the sides of the treadmills. He swears he hears a breathy voice but whatever it said, it goes in one ear and out the other - Aleks is locked in a trance, until Brett’s hands slam on the front of his treadmill console._

… so Aleks doesn’t think he’ll go to the gym with Brett again. There’s another reason too but if Brett won’t speak about _that_  moment in the gym pool, neither will Aleks, even if it seems very helpful to his cause in getting into Brett’s pants. There’s no point in bringing it up if Brett is likely to ignore it and move on like it didn’t happen.

 

Brett stands up from the ground and sets the drink on the table before he grabs the hem of his dirty tanktop. “Thanks, I really needed that,” he says as he lifts the hem.

_Come on, dude, don’t take off your fucking shirt, don’t - fuuuuuck._

Brett hangs his discarded tanktop over the back of the chair. He then looks up into the sky with the glaring sun and shields his eyes with his hand as he asks Aleks, “you like it hot or cold better?”

“Hot,” Aleks mumbles while his eyes scan the entirety of Brett’s muscular, naked chest.

Brett’s strong hands are airbrushed with dirt and splotches of it splay over his arms. There’s even a small inkling of dirt on his forehead but Brett still looks like a perfect specimen that God sculpted himself, shirtless in these dirty jeans and boots. And then, _fuck me,_ his pecs involuntarily flex and Aleks’ lips roll back with a very faint hum before he slams his eyes shut and looks out into the yard to see Mishka doing her business.

_Why does he have to be so hot?_

“Hot? Then it’s good we’re heading to Austin in a few days,” Brett says as he steps back to take a seat across from Aleks. “Cause it’s gonna be nothing _but_  heat, baby!” He slams his hand down on the patio table and it startles Aleks, it makes him slightly jerk in his seat.

“Shit, dude.” Aleks sits up straight and then crosses a leg over his other. “You uh, sound excited.”

“Cause I know it’s gonna go better than last year,” Brett tells him. “We know what to fully expect from RTX and we know the convention layout a little bit more so we won’t get lost like last year.”

“I mean, the guardian was the one who got us lost. We did pretty okay,” Aleks defends as he looks over to Brett and he’s thankful (maybe?) that he can’t see Brett’s naked torso too well from where he is. “But our panel isn’t in the convention center this year, it’s in the uh, Hilton, I think.”

“By the way, they totally switched the panels around so I need to talk to Jordan a day earlier than expected.” Brett looks to Aleks with slitted eyes and pressed lips. “Can you tell how excited I am?”

“Oh shit,” Aleks chuckles. “That uh, that Let’s Play panel is gonna be real interesting. What are you and him gonna talk about?”

“Hopefully nothing,” Brett scoffs and looks out into the yard. “If we do talk, I’m gonna like… end up catching an assault charge or something,” he chuckles humorlessly. “He’s just like…” He sighs and shakes his head. “He was _so bad_  at his job, silencing you and James and doing his own thing, being a hypocrite and dating something underneath him, like, what made him think he’d be good at running a company? And he used to be pretty decent too but then he took a total nosedive into shit.”

Aleks agrees with basically everything Brett is saying, though he wouldn’t have put it in harsh terms like that. Jordan himself isn’t a bad person, he’s just… a bad boss. That didn’t make itself too apparent either until he started dating Stef and focused on doing all these kid friendly things, because people would rather have a company focused solely on chaos and people making idiots of themselves to suddenly drop all that to do toy reviews out of nowhere, right?

Maybe that’s true in an alternate universe and in that universe, Aleks would still be with the Creatures and he wouldn’t be living and working with Brett. He’s pretty fine with the universe he lives in currently, even if he is being chased by sexual thoughts of Brett almost every waking second.

 

“It was okay at first but he just let it get to his head. I dunno.” Aleks shrugs. “I’d even be fine with him and Stef if he was just professional about it but he made it this big thing.”

“Eh, still unprofessional. You shouldn’t date a coworker,” Brett says with conviction. “That gets way too messy.”

Aleks purses his lips and then bites down on his bottom as he tries to perfectly pontificate the words to tell Brett he’s not exactly right. “I mean… I think it’s fine as long as it doesn’t affect any work,” he explains.”It just did in their case.”

“It’s still a matter of being professional,” Brett elaborates. “You’re there to work and if you date somebody, lines can get blurred and there’s no certain way to make sure it doesn’t. Like, we’re thankful to be in an environment that’s more laid back than the typical workplace but we still should follow basic stuff like that.”

“But crushes just happen, dude.” Aleks chuckles humorlessly and looks over to Brett. “You can’t help who you like. And if it’s somebody you happen to work with, and you know they like you too, it’s silly to not do anything about it just because of that one rule.”

Aleks expects Brett to immediately reply back, because Brett is quick on his feet and can readily explain whatever is going on in his head, but he doesn’t.

Brett keeps sitting there and stares out into the yard until he looks down at the ground below him. As he hunches over, he clasps his hands together and his thumbs circle around each other.

Aleks doesn’t think he said anything over the line or especially profound so he’s curious as to why Brett looks like he’s thinking so hard about it, but maybe if he continues to elaborate, it’ll spark Brett’s answer.

“You can’t tell me that if you really liked somebody you worked with, you wouldn’t at least try _something_  with them,” Aleks says. “Or hint to them in small ways that you _wanna_  try something with them.”

It’s why Aleks has been more hands on and flirtatious with Brett, because he might be a bit nervous to actually tell Brett he wants to fuck him but he has no problems with leaving a trail of clues for Brett to decipher. He’s a smart man so it shouldn’t be hard to figure those clues out.

Soon, Brett’s voice pierces through the silence and Aleks immediately looks over.

 

“You don’t think I’ve liked somebody I’ve worked with before?” Brett asks quietly.

Aleks fully turns to look at Brett and sits up with furrowed eyebrows of curiosity. As he crosses his arms over the table, he asks, “I dunno, have you?”

“Maybe,” Brett answers. “Still can’t do anything about it though. Can’t risk a messy relationship.”

“Well…” Aleks looks down to his arms and his fingers gently traces lines over his tattoos. “What if it was just sex? How much would your mind change then?”

Brett breathes in deeply and suddenly sits up in his chair as he looks to the clear skies above. “Wow. That’s a loaded question.”

“Not really,” Aleks says. “It’s simple. If you wanted to fuck somebody you work with, would you do it? Come on, there’s definitely somebody you wanna fuck, even I can admit to that.”

“Okay, so who do you wanna fuck in the office?” Brett asks as he looks down to Aleks, turning in his chair to face him directly. “If it’s so simple?”

Aleks gapes at Brett and leans in. “Uh, sorry?”

Brett raises his eyebrows and leans in, putting a hand behind his ear. “Go on, I’m listening. Who do you wanna fuck?”

“Who… who says I wanna fuck somebody in the office?” Aleks asks.

“You did,” Brett chuckles. “You said you can admit to that-”

“I didn’t mean it like _that-”_

“So what other way did you mean it?”

“Not that way, I know that.”

“You’re such a liar, dude!” Brett laughs and leans back in his chair again, crossing his arms behind his head. “You won’t admit who so I won’t admit who.”

He won’t admit who? Oh shit, he and Aleks are in the same predicament! They both wanna fuck somebody in the office and the chances that they both want each other are high! This is great development, or it would be if Brett could just come out of the closet (again) and say it!

Aleks grins hugely and points an accusatory finger. “So you _admit_  there’s somebody you wanna fuck?”

Brett’s eyes widen and slam shut. He releases a small grunt in annoyance before he blinks his eyes open in some direction other than Aleks. “Aleks, I don’t-”

“Tell me who!” Aleks demands. “Dude, your secret is totally safe with me. I won’t tell a soul-”

“I don’t care. I’m not saying.”

“Why not? I’m not gonna make fun of you, I swear-”

“No.” Brett shakes his head and stands up from his chair. “I don’t wanna say.”

“Dude-” Aleks sighs and presses his lips together when Brett interrupts him again.

“Dude.” Brett fixes a firm look at him while he makes his way to the door. “Stop pushing it.”

“But what if-”

“Aleks,” Brett says with an eye roll, “I mean-”

“What if I told you who I wanted to fuck?” Aleks asks. “Would you tell me then?”

Brett blinks, rolls his lips back between his teeth, and nibbles at the bottom. His fingers drum against the mesh screen of the door and he averts his gaze to watch them as he gathers his thoughts together.

Aleks holds his arms to himself as he stares at Brett, running his hands up and down his own arms.

He’s absolutely willing to tell Brett that he wants to fuck him because the chances are high that Brett wants to fuck him too… but Brett’s not going to if he doesn’t admit it. He’s going to keep it bottled up inside, convinced that if he ever acts on it with Aleks that it’ll put their whole workplace at risk but it’s just sex.

Aleks could understand Brett being hesitant if he wanted a relationship but he doesn’t. Aleks just wants to fuck him and have a good time. Why should Brett deprive himself of that?

Brett looks over to Aleks and Aleks raises his eyebrows in anticipation for his answer, but it turns out to be one he doesn’t like.

 

“Sorry, but no.” Brett shakes his head. “I know it’s still just sex but it would still be complicated.”

Aleks squints his eyes and slumps his shoulders. “How?”

Brett sighs and presses his lips together. He pokes his tongue around the inside of his cheek for a few moments before he speaks again. “Because I…” He blinks a few times and shakes his head. “... nevermind.”

Aleks groans and rolls his eyes. “Brett-”

“I’m gonna shower off this dirt.” Brett pats his hand on the door handle before he opens it. “I’ll order some pizza for us when I get out.”

Aleks huffs as he watches Brett disappear inside the house and then he looks back out into the yard to see Mishka lying down in the grass, her tongue happily flopping out of her mouth.

Oh, how he longs to be a dog. They just eat and sleep all day and enjoy a simple existence, unlike humans who have way too much to worry about; work, relationships, sex… especially sex. And why? When the fuck did sex get so complicated?

Aleks is just trying to fuck Brett. Why does he feel like he’s being punished for it?

* * *

 

**July 4th, 2017**

 

The Santa Monica beach is rather beauteous for the 4th of July today. The shoreline is populated by families in their swimwear, all setting up umbrellas or laying out towels so they can properly enjoy the first part of the day. Kids are screaming and chasing each other with playful tubes around their waists and cute floaties on their little arms and some are sat in the sand, creating sandcastles for the sole purpose of crushing.

The Cow Chop family isn’t exactly like these families but it doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy their day off too.

Everybody is flying out to Texas for RTX tomorrow morning so Brett’s giving everybody the day off to prepare for the flight and finish any last minute things… but everybody’s pretty much got their shit together so that’s why everybody from Cow Chop is on this beach for an impromptu beach day.

 

“Okay, take off your shirt,” Brett tells Aleks. “Gotta get your back.”

“I mean, I think I’ll be fine-”

 _“Stop,_ no you won’t. I don't want you to get sunburn.”

“You just want an excuse for me to be shirtless.”

“Yup, that’s totally it,” Brett says in monotone. “Can’t really go swimming with this tanktop on though. Take it off.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and grabs the hem of his tanktop to slip it off his body. “Yes, daddy.”

Haha, wow, Brett hasn’t heard that name in awhile! He was having a good time not hearing it either but as much as he likes Aleks, he’s been making his life super difficult as of lately. It’s not really his fault though. How is Aleks supposed to know that Brett is crushing on him and that mostly everything he does makes Brett’s mind go wonky?

It’s a fucking miracle he escaped Aleks’ interrogation a few days ago but he just _had_  to let slip that he wanted to fuck somebody, and Aleks _had_  to let slip that he wanted to fuck somebody too.

Chances are high that this somebody is Brett, so why didn’t Brett just tell Aleks and get it over with, if he thinks Aleks wants to fuck him?

Although it’s just sex, Brett still can’t help the worry in the back of his mind that they’ll fuck and it’ll forever change things. It’s highly unlikely but Brett really doesn’t wanna risk any chances of losing anything about their friendship at all.

All it really means, very deep down, is that Brett won’t be the one to initiate it.

 

Brett squeezes the sunscreen onto his hands so he can massage it into Aleks’ shoulders and then he runs his hands up and down his back to fully apply it. Aleks’ back is soft and warm and Brett’s strong hands easily press into his pale skin. A mark could easily be left and-

_STOP! THIS IS A COMPLETELY FRIENDLY INTERACTION!_

“Hey, Brett,” Asher says. “Can you get my back next?”

“Depends,” Brett answers. “Have you booked your flight yet?”

“I thought you’d take care of it.”

Brett’s lips form into a tightly pressed smile and he raises his eyebrows as he glances to Asher. “And you told me not to worry about it. You haven’t booked it yet?”

“Uh, not yet.”

_Dumbass._

Brett doesn’t wanna be one of those older guys who complain about the youth all the time, especially when he’s madly crushing on somebody 9 years younger, but what the fuck is with some of them? Brett recognizes that they have potential and Trevor and Asher wouldn’t be on the Cow Chop team if Brett didn’t see something in them but how fucking hard is it to book a flight?

Asher just better not be late, otherwise they’ll have problems.

“Book your flight before the end of the day so we don’t have to worry about it tomorrow,” Brett tells him. “Get Trevor to do your back.”

With a shrug, Asher grabs the other bottle of sunscreen so he can bother Trevor with it. Brett looks after him and shakes his head before he runs his hands down the length of Aleks’ arms.

“They remind me of actual children sometimes,” Brett says as he presses his hands into Aleks’ inked skin.

“Asher’s never had to do this kind of thing before,” Aleks defends, looking down to watch Brett’s big hands. “It’s all new to him.”

“But he said he could take care of it and he hasn’t yet.”

“Brett, _relax,”_ Aleks urges. “You always stress out over shit like this.”

“Aleks-”

“It’s the Fourth of July dude,” Aleks chuckles and looks up into the sky. “Enjoy it, don’t think about work. We’re gonna have an awesome time on the beach and then we’re gonna bar hop later, walk the pier, and it’ll be an awesome night.”

Brett doesn’t think about work all the time! He also thinks about… Aleks! Yeah, he thinks about Aleks a lot! And when he’s not thinking about Aleks, he’s thinking about… er, work. Okay, he understands what Aleks means and he knows he shouldn’t focus on it as much as he does but this channel is their livelihood and little things like coworkers forgetting to book flights can add onto what’s already a big mountain of stress.

Brett wants Cow Chop to succeed. Managing a YouTube channel is harder than one thinks and there’s a lot that goes into it but he just has to keep telling himself that as long as Cow Chop keeps doing what they’re doing and don’t suddenly decide to collaborate with highly questionable and controversial YouTubers, then they’ll be fine.

Nonetheless, Aleks is right. It’s just one day of not thinking about work. Brett supposes he can shut all of that out to spend a beautiful day with an even more beautiful boy.

 

Brett’s lips purse over to the side as he lets go of Aleks’ arms to sit back on the towel. “I don’t like it when you talk rationally. You’re done, by the way.”

Aleks turns to face Brett before he sits on his knees in front of him, hands resting in the open space. “You uh, need any on you?”

_How about my dick? Hahaha. I’m going to hell._

Brett shakes his head and grabs the nearby sunglasses to slip over his eyes. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”

The sunglasses perfectly hide his eyes from the outside world and it allows him to openly check out Aleks. The shade doesn’t highlight his chest tattoos like the sun does but they’re still rather colorful and Brett likes to run his eyes along the meticulously well done designs, how nobody else but Aleks could’ve possibly thought of such a mixture. He might see somebody else in the future with a galaxial tattoo sleeve or the rad bird on their chest but he’ll always remember it as Aleks’ special designs first.

Then again, most things these days remind him of Aleks.

“We _are_  still going out tonight, right?” Aleks asks as he looks off down the beach, raising a hand to run it back through his hair. “I probably won’t get drunk though, I don’t wanna be hungover on the plane tomorrow morning.”

“Hell yeah, dude,” Brett answers. “And you don’t have to. Might have to lug my drunk ass around but I think I’ll just be tipsy at the most.”

“That’s cool. Honestly, I just wanna hang out with you.”

“Feeling’s mutual, my friend,” Brett says with a smile.

_Just wish a few other feelings were mutual too._

“Annnd what are the plans for this week?” Aleks looks down to Brett. “Besides trying your best not to clock Jordan in the face?”

Brett laughs and reaches back to adjust the bag on the towel, and then he takes off his hat so he can lay his head back. “Oh god, we’re gonna be busy as fuck. Especially me. All of you are going straight back home to LA on the last night of RTX but I’m staying in Austin for a few days because I gotta go right to Shanghai after that for the Overwatch World Cup so it’s like, you know, why even bother flying back to LA when I’m gonna leave the next day?”

Aleks furrows his eyebrows. “You’re not coming back to LA with us?”

“Nope,” Brett sighs. “Wish I could but I can’t turn down an opportunity like this. Gonna be a busy few weeks though, that’s for sure.”

It also means being without Aleks for a few weeks and Brett hasn’t fully prepared himself for that. It was easy to go without Aleks before he moved to LA but now he’s here, he and Brett have been together practically every minute, and Brett just hopes he’ll be able to function without the new, significant part of his life by his side.

 

“No, yeah, I get it.” Aleks nods. “Well before all that, what’s going to happen at RTX?”

“Well on Friday is the Let’s Play Panel and the signings after that. Then I’m pretty sure we’re gonna film a video like we did last year for Joe’s birthday-”

“Are we gonna get fucked up?” Aleks smirks.

“Dude, you already _know_  we are. We’re going to 6th Street and you know how crazy that gets.”

“Sounds fun though, getting fucked up on 6th Street,” Aleks says as he crawls up beside Brett to lie down beside him, crossing his arms behind his head. “And Saturday?”

“On Saturday, we have our panel and we’re not gonna do Q&A this year because last year was…” Brett sighs and shakes his head, “... just a disaster.”

“Good choice.” Aleks nods.

“Yeah, we’ll just show some videos and it’ll be a chill time. We’ll probably do the escape room before that. Or afterwards, depends on what the other groups are doing that time. But after the panel, for sure, we’re gonna do our podcast with Geoff.” Brett looks over to Aleks as he raises the sunglasses to his forehead. “Is that okay? I can always replace him.”

“Nah, dude, me and him are cool,” Aleks reassures. “He even texted me yesterday, said when I came back down to Austin that he’s down to... “ He grins and looks over to Brett, waggling his eyebrows.

Brett breathes in deeply and forces out a chuckle. “Uh, yeah? So uh, you’re… you’re gonna do that?”

_Why can’t you do me and date meeeee… ):_

“He’s always cool to fuck around with, it’s not gonna change just because we broke up.”

It’s great that Aleks and Geoff are on good terms. It means Geoff can still collaborate with Cow Chop and Brett also doesn’t have to punch him in the face for breaking Aleks’ heart. No hearts were broken at all in their breakup, in fact. They just weren’t right for each other and that happens.

At least they tried it out. That’s a lot better than constantly wondering what would happen if they actually gave dating each other a chance instead of skirting around the topic for an excruciatingly long time.

_… I don’t really like this subject anymore._

“Well uh, good. Get that dick.” Brett raises his fist and gives a prompt nod of approval. “Looks like we both have our plans set.”

“You can even fuck Risinger again.”

“Ahhh, I’d rather not.”

“Yo, spill the tea,” Aleks urges as he turns on his side to face Brett. “Is he a bad lay?”

Brett laughs and turns on his side, then asks, “what the fuck did you just say to me?”

“Spill the tea?” Aleks raises his eyebrows. “Like, give me the details-”

“I know what it means. Just sounds funny coming out of your mouth.” Brett chuckles and looks up to the underside of their umbrella. “Uhhh, the actual sex itself was good but I just don’t wanna really talk to him.”

Jon’s pretty, incredibly so, but Brett just wishes he could be seen and not heard! Other people really like Jon and that’s fine, Brett doesn’t mind hanging out with him in a platonic setting either but he just can’t turn that switch off in the bedroom.

Take Aleks, for example. He memes it up hardcore in the videos and is definitely more of a brat but get him behind closed doors and he’s about one of the sweetest people that Brett knows. He doesn’t live the gimmick like other people seem to do.

 

“He can’t talk if he has a dick down his throat,” Aleks points out along with a finger.

“Is that how you and Geoff would end your arguments, your dicks down each other’s throats?”

“If I didn’t have a terrible gag reflex, yeah, that’s probably what we would do.”

“Don’t really need a good gag reflex to suck dick though, if we’re being honest,” Brett says as he scoots closer.

“You think I don’t know that, dude?” Aleks scoffs. “Deep throating is just like, a bonus.” Aleks lays a hand out on the middle of the towel and his chest tenses when he sees Brett’s hand moving closer. “A really awesome bonus I wish I could do but still. So like… are you good at sucking dick then?”

“I’d say so, yeah.” Brett nods and looks down to Aleks. “It’s not hard to suck dick. As long as you don’t use your teeth, give all your attention to the tip,” he clicks his tongue and gives a thumbs up before he places that hand back on the towel, “then we’re golden.”

Brett’s fingers barely touch the tips of Aleks’ but it’s enough to send a small jolt through both of their bodies and their fingers twitch as they quickly move to rest on top of each other.

“I uh, yeah, that’s what I do.” Aleks swallows and averts his gaze to their hands. “Uh, I try to make up for it by using my tongue a lot, maybe suck their balls a little.”

“Yeah?” Brett licks along his lips. “I like it when they give attention way down there. It’s like a massage with their mouth, just feels real nice.”

Brett isn’t sure why they’re suddenly talking about blowjobs on a beach in the afternoon but he doesn’t really wanna get off it (and he’d rather get off on Aleks anyways). Brett is totally content to just lie here and listen to Aleks talk about his blowjob skills and how and where he uses his tongue. Besides, he can always be trained in deepthroating if he found the right guy for that sort of thing.

_Like me!_

 

“Hey, are you guys just gonna cuddle under here all day or are you actually gonna join me and James in the ocean?”

Brett and Aleks look up to see Lindsey and James standing at the foot of their towel, the both of them sharing knowing grins.

Those two are really getting on his nerves. It’s like its become their life goal to make jokes about him and Aleks at every opportunity and he isn’t sure what the fuck inspired these two to do so in the first place! Can’t two guys live together and go out with each other without it having some ulterior motive?

Listen, just because Brett wants to fuck and date Aleks doesn’t mean that’s the only reason he hangs out with him. He hangs out with Aleks because he enjoys his company, no matter the status of their relationship.

Brett clears his throat and sits up on the towel. “Yeah, me and Aleks-”

“What if we wanted to cuddle under here with each other all day?” Aleks asks as he sits up to wrap his arms around Brett’s neck, levelling a challenging look at James. “Maybe you two should do it with each other, get in on the fun.”

_I like where this is going._

“Yeah, what he said.” Brett holds onto Aleks’ hips and smirks at Lindsey. “We’re gonna cuddle with each other _all week,_ just to spite you two.”

James crosses his arms over his chest and slowly turns on his heel. “I guess me and Lindsey won’t intrude on your alone time then.”

“That would be quite rude.” Lindsey mirrors James’ actions. “Let’s leave mom and dad be.”

“I’m dad,” Brett and Aleks say in unison before they look to each other questioningly. “What?” They both ask. “No, I’m dad. No, me! No, it’s me!”

James and Lindsey grin, cast knowing glances to each other, and share a chuckle before they look out into the ocean.

_They’re ridiculous._

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Aleks,” Brett says as he pushes at his shoulder. “Aleks. Allleks. Aleksaaandr-”

“Hmm? What?” Aleks looks up from his phone to Brett. “What’s up?”

Brett points to the cotton candy cart and wraps an arm around Aleks’ shoulder. “I want that. Let’s get some.”

“Okay, we should meet up with James and Lindsey after though. I just told James we’d try to head their way,” Aleks says as he shoves his phone back into his pocket.

James and Lindsey are enjoying a nice night at Pacific Park with each other so Aleks doesn’t know why they want him and Brett to possibly ruin it but Aleks won’t say no to hanging with his friends! It’s also a great way to steer Brett away from the bars because Aleks _really_  doesn’t want him hungover at the airport tomorrow, even if Brett insists he’ll be fine.

The stars are twinkling in the sky and the park is lit by an array of colors, from blue, to yellow, to red, to green, etc. and the fireworks are only going to add to the overall radiance. The scents of popcorn and cotton candy wafts through the air and slips into Aleks’ nose and he actually takes another whiff of the strangely nostalgic aroma…

_“Hey.” Aleks waves the cone back and forth, “It’s your turn.”_

_“You can’t just do that.” Geoff chuckles and shakes his head as he takes the cone from Aleks to get a taste._

_“Do what?”_

_“Suck that like you do my dick.”_

_“How the fuck else am I supposed to eat it? It’s your mind’s fault for being stuck in the gutter all the time.”_

_Geoff mouths at the top of the cold treat and licks the excess off his lips with no fanfare as he shrugs. “When I’m with a ridiculously hot guy like you, you can’t really blame me.”_

Aleks would be lying if he said he didn’t miss Geoff’s company a little bit but he’ll be seeing him when the actual RTX convention starts! And then he’ll get a taste of that fucking awesome dick again and it’s been a few weeks since Aleks has had a good dicking down. It’s just what he needs.

He’d try to hit up Bruce but last time he texted Bruce about that, Bruce told Aleks that he had his heart set on Autumn from Sugar Pine 7 and Aleks isn’t one to get in the way of true love.

And Aleks wishes he knew what true love was like.

It must be pretty fucking nice if most people are willing to do anything to achieve it, like travel around the world and make heavy compromises. Aleks is definitely one of those people and doesn’t consider himself immune from love’s spell. He wants to find that one and only, go to bed with them and wake up to them, hold their hand and take them out on the most romantic dates he can afford… he’s so willing to do _so much_  for that one person.

It’s an uphill battle and Aleks has been running into more roadblocks than not but he’s not giving up hope. In moments like these, eating cotton candy with one of his closest friends on a beautiful pier, it’s hard to.

 

Aleks takes a bite from the cotton candy and hands it to Brett, who immediately takes a big bite and Aleks chuckles at the amount he takes. “Dude, you’re fucking hungry.”

“Ish cheat day,” Brett says around his mouthful, swallowing it fully before he continues. “I can eat whatever the _fuck_ I want.”

“Maybe we should get you a Snickers, you’re not you when you’re hungry,” Aleks teases as he walks down the pier.

“Snickers should _totally_  sponsor us,” Brett says as he follows Aleks along. “We need more sponsors. YouTube’s fucking algorithms are screwing us over, soon we’ll have to whore ourselves out for cash.”

Brett handles the business side of things so he knows a lot more about that then Aleks does, which is great because Aleks is already stressed. He has a huge respect for Brett who willingly puts up with all the bigger picture stuff and all the responsibility that comes with it because Aleks would never be able to do that full time.

Some people say that Brett needs to lighten up and be nicer but they’re not in Brett’s shoes. They don’t know exactly what he does but maybe if they did, they’d cut Brett some slack. Brett has a lot on his plate and Aleks wishes there was a button he can press to lessen Brett’s stress and anxieties, remind him that he’s not alone.

“Some people are starting a Patreon.” Aleks shrugs. “We could always do that, give a little incentive for people to donate too, like exclusive content.”

“Oh my god, _Aleks,_ you beautiful, creative man, you!” Brett holds onto the side of Aleks’ head so he can press a big kiss to his temple and he lets go with an excited laugh. “You hear that, God?” he asks as he looks into the sky. “All of our money problems are SOLVED!”

That’s not exactly the button he was talking about but hey, it looks to be doing the job!

Aleks holds a hand to his cheek and bites down on his lips to stifle the embarrassed smile when he realizes he’s blushing.

Brett’s the type of drunk to be more affectionate and honest with people, proclaiming his love for the earth and all who inhabit it. Even when he’s tipsy, shades of this can be seen and it wouldn’t be the first time Aleks is on the other end but it’s rare that Aleks is sober when it happens… rare, as in, not at all, because Aleks drinks a lot and tonight is sort of an outlier.

He can only _imagine_  how he’d be reacting if Brett was full on drunk. How much more would Brett do with him then?

_Hopefully a lot more. NO, DUDE, DON’T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DRUNK PEOPLE._

 

“Yeah, I say smart shit sometimes,” Aleks mumbles, taking a hand off his cheek.

“I give you a lotta shit,” Brett says around another mouthful, “but you wealwy aw smawt.” He swallows and licks his lips clean. “Mmm, this tastes good. Real good.”

“Give me another bite if it tastes so good then, you’re hogging it.” Aleks holds a hand out, anticipating Brett to hand it over but Brett just keeps it to himself and Aleks whines. “Breeett-”

“I got a better idea.” Brett waggles his eyebrows with a grin and steps closer.

“Does it involve you handing me - mmm!”

Aleks’ eyes lid close when Brett places his lips onto his and he holds onto his shoulders to steady himself because  _fuck, Brett’s kissing me, he’s kissing me, he tastes so good_ **_and Brett’s kissing me._ **

Obviously, Brett tastes like the cotton candy but there’s a hint of alcohol laced in the sweetness that gives it a much needed bitter tinge. Like the other times they’ve kissed, he tastes great and it’s no surprise. He kisses great too, knows when to press his lips in and how long to leave them so the other isn’t pulling apart for air but now that Aleks thinks about it, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing because he’s totally willing to give up breathing for _awesome_  kisses.

Aleks swipes his tongue along his lips to get a better taste but after doing so, he realizes one very important fact that he just internally scolded himself over a few minutes prior.

_DON’T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DRUNK PEOPLE._

Aleks huffs through his nose when he remembers he has to be a responsible, upstanding citizen, and he pulls away from Brett’s lips.

Brett laughs and takes a small bite of the cotton candy. “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”

“That’s the like, 4th time we’ve kissed?” Aleks points out as he presses his fingers to his lips. “And you initiated it 3 out of those 4 times?”

How can somebody who claims to be such a professional, be _so comfortable_  in kissing their coworker and friend that many times? Among many other things… but the kissing deserves the most attention, and it probably wouldn’t if it was only one time but as Aleks said, it’s 4 now. It’s reached a point where, Aleks thinks, it’s a _bit more_ than two dudes just being dudes.

“Dude, I like kissing you.” Brett shrugs. “Can’t help it.”

 

Aleks doesn’t need Brett to tell him that obvious piece of information but it certainly helps to crush any doubts he has that Brett really _doesn’t_  like to kiss him, because there were still slivers of doubt, believe it or not. Ahhh, the days where he thought Brett was a straight man were so much easier and the anxiety and uncertainty wasn’t at an all time high but then it wasn’t as exciting! Aleks _craves_ excitement.

“Can’t really argue with that, I guess.” Aleks shoves his hands into his pockets and looks down to the ground, his body tensing when Brett wraps an arm around his shoulder.

“You wanna know a secret, Aleks?” Brett asks as he takes another bite.

“You’re my dad?”

Brett chuckles and shakes his head. “If I were your dad, that’d make what I’m about to tell you really awkward.”

Why would that make… oh shit! This is it! Brett’s finally gonna tell Aleks that he wants to fuck him! … and he’s fucking drunk when he’s doing it so it’s not gonna matter but it’ll sure make Aleks feel better _as soon as he fucking says it, just say you wanna fuck me, pleeeeease._

“So, Aleks. Aleksandr.”

“Brett,” Aleks says. “Brettzle Stick.”

“Ha! Love it! But remember when you asked me what made me realize I was into guys?”

_“What made you realize you might be into guys?” Aleks asks._

_Brett rolls his lips back and averts his eyes the other direction, scratching at the back of his neck. “It was uh… um… you tell me, uh, when did you realize you might be into guys?”_

_Aleks tears his gaze away from Brett’s body at the exact second Brett looks over to him and shrugs. “I just saw some really buff guy one day and my mind like… did its thing.” Aleks chuckles. “Not much of a big story there like you were expecting.”_

_“No, it’s cool.” Brett shakes his head. “Makes me feel better, uh… that’s uh, exactly what happened to me.” Brett forces a chuckle and looks up at the ceiling. “Yeeeah, I just saw a real cute guy and thought, woah, when the fuck did guys get so attractive?”_

“Yeah.” Aleks nods. “What about it?”

So maybe he isn’t telling Aleks that he wants to fuck him. That kinda sucks but Aleks is curious as to where Brett is going right now.

“I told you I saw a random cute guy but it wasn’t like, this random cute guy, you know?” Brett says.

“Okay… so uh, you knew this cute guy?”

“Yeah, he’s with me right now.”

Just like that, Aleks’ curiosity is property satiated.

 

Aleks stops in his tracks to look to Brett, who’s smiling at him like he didn’t just tell Aleks that he’s what made him realize he was bisexual, just like Brett made Aleks realize he was bisexual.

_Is that what he just fucking told me?_

“Wait, hold on,” Aleks chuckles and raises a hand over his chest. “Like… I made you realize you were into dudes?”

“Basically.” Brett nods. “Is that cool?”

Is that cool? Is that COOL? He’s asking Aleks, who wants to get railed by Brett more than anything, if it’s cool that Aleks made him realize he wants to fuck dudes? There is no possible simulation out of 1000 where it wouldn’t be cool!

It’s like being a little kid and having fantasies about marrying your favorite celebrity and years later, when you’re an adult, you meet them and have that happily ever after with them in the miracle timeline you’ve managed to land yourself in.

It’s not THAT far but it’s close.

“Yeah, uh, why wouldn’t it be?” Aleks shrugs. “You think I’m hot, dude, that’s a fucking compliment.”

“Good!” Brett pats Aleks’ back a few times and then looks forward. “Felt like you should know! So where are James and Lindsey?”

Who? Oh, right, their friends! Their friends who want to hang out with them! Right, they should like, meet up with them and stuff instead of talking to each other about Brett’s sexuality. And how Aleks was that key for him.

_… can we just do that instead?_

But then they’d be bad friends so Aleks continues on with telling Brett where they are and they head in that direction. Aleks’ mind goes on an autopilot that’ll hopefully take them to James and Lindsey so his mind can reel in what Brett told him just now, and it’s going to take a long fucking time.

 

Brett’s words keep going through his brain, over and over, they keep turning with the gears in his head so it should be processed already but it’s not because it sounds so unbelievable to Aleks. He’s lusted after Brett for so long and had all these fantasies about him and now it turns out that Brett is feeling something similar?

How do you explain something like that?

What do you _do_  about something like that?

Well what you do… is wait for RTX weekend to roll around!


	19. Farthest From The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the first official day of RTX! Aleks and Brett have quite an eventful breakfast with Bruce, Geoff, and Steven Suptic, and Brett comes out of the Let’s Play panel a somewhat changed man.

**** **July 7th, 2017**

 

So far, nothing notable has happened in their Texas stay but today is the first official day of the RTX convention. It’s guaranteed to get a lot more interesting.

The first bullet point on the agenda? The Let’s Play panel, which features such coveted guests like Geoff Ramsey AKA Aleks’ ex boyfriend, Bruce Greene AKA Aleks’ one night stand, Brett Hundley AKA the man madly crushing on Aleks, Steven Suptic AKA leader of Sugar Pine 7, and Jordan Whatshisface AKA the man that Brett still wants to punch in the face - and many more!

Brett’s up early today to go out to breakfast with Geoff, Bruce, and Steven at that Le Crepe place he went to last year, he’s been singing high praises of it ever since. It’s estimated to be rather packed but Geoff made a reservation beforehand for a table of 5 - just in case another person from the panel wanted to join in.

 

After patting his pockets to make sure his phone and wallet are secure, Brett makes his way to the door. Right as he places his hand on the handle, he looks back to Aleks’ sleeping frame and Brett takes a deep breath, his body rising before it slumps in relaxation with the exhale.

Aleks’ side is facing towards Brett and his eyes are closed, lips parted open as he breathes slowly, in and out. He’s got an arm under the pillow and one arm over it, a covered leg slipping out from under the blue and white comforter, that has bunched on top of itself over and over among his body and exposes the white sheet of the hotel bed. Sunlight bleeds through the blinds of the window and it bathes Aleks’ body along with the soft shell it’s encased in.

If Brett stares any longer, he’s going to get drunk off the beautiful sight alone and the last time he got like that around Aleks, he basically confessed that Aleks was what made him realize he was into guys…

_Was that really only a few days ago?_

Brett thins his lips, shakes his head, and begins to turn towards the door. “Just go out to breakfast,” he mumbles to himself. “It’s over now, nothing you can do about it.”

He _could_  just brush it off with the whole _“everybody says crazy shit when they’re drunk!”_ excuse like Aleks did but unlike Aleks, Brett wasn’t that drunk. He was just drunk enough where he lost some sense of judgement, like the judgement that tells you _not_  to tell one of your closest friends that they were your closet key.

Then again, he was Aleks’ closet key if Aleks’ drunken ramblings are true, which they most likely are, otherwise he and Aleks wouldn’t have been kissing each other as much as they have since that night, or flirting with each other, spending most of their time together… okay, so it could be a lot worse.

Truthfully, Brett doesn’t have anxiety about what he said anymore but rather over the fact that Aleks hasn’t spoke of it. What the fuck does Aleks think about it? Does it change what he thinks about Brett at all?  Brett wants to discuss it now, he doesn’t want to put it off. Aleks isn’t supposed to just move on from information like that, unless he really thinks Brett said it because he was (a tiny bit) drunk but Brett doubts that.

 

“Mmm, Brett?” Aleks yawns with squinted eyes. “Where you going?”

“Oh, hey.” _Good morning sleeping beauty._ “So um… I was gonna go out to breakfast with Bruce, Geoff, and Suptic, fill our lil’ tummies up before the Let’s Play panel. Signings aren’t until later so I figured you could sleep in a bit more.”

He did think about asking Aleks to come along with him when the invitation was originally presented but it’d also be sort of awkward, wouldn’t it? He and Geoff might be on amicable terms, so amicable that they’re gonna _fuck each other,_ but Geoff doesn’t even know he fucked Bruce yet, nobody does, so-

“Can I come?” Aleks asks as he sits up in bed to stretch his arms. “Just let me throw on a shirt real quick.”

So maybe it isn’t that awkward. Brett should take his own advice and not think too hard.

Brett’s gaze dips to Aleks’ shirtless torso to briefly admire for a few moments before Aleks’ face receives his full attention again. “Are you aware of the fact that you’ve fucked 50% of the breakfast table?” he asks.

Aleks grins and suggestively waggles his eyebrows. “Hell yeah, dude,” he chuckles. “Wouldn’t mind bumping that up to 75%.”

“Suptic is engaged, bro. You’re good looking but uh,” Brett hisses through his teeth and crosses his arms over his chest, “that ain’t gonna beat true love.”

“Wasn’t talking about Suptic.” Aleks winks at Brett and looks him up and down as he climbs off the bed, his sweatpants dipping a bit lower on his body. “Too twinky for my tastes.”

Brett looks to the ground with a chuckle. “Wow uh, you’re ridiculous, dude.”

He’s glad that he doesn’t get so nervous anymore when Aleks says stuff like that. But with one problem gone, another one takes its place.

“So are you,” Aleks counters as he picks up the nearest shirt available on Brett’s bed. “Ridiculously _hot,_ that is.” He winks again and clicks his tongue accompanied by a finger gun before he slips the shirt on, a basic black t-shirt with a small pocket in the chest.

“Uh, that’s my shirt,” Brett points out with furrowed eyebrows.

“I called you ridiculously hot and that’s what you’re focusing on?”

Oh yeah, that new problem? Brett has to try his hardest not to just throw Aleks down onto the nearest surface when he says shit like that. So obviously, he doesn’t wanna focus too hard on Aleks joking that he wants to fuck him because recent events have shown that they’re not really jokes after all, but serious suggestions shrouded under comedic veils.

Aleks wearing his shirt still drives him crazy because god damn, he looks like he fucking belongs in his clothes, but Brett thinks this is more manageable for his psyche. As long as he doesn’t think about tearing off Aleks’ blue sweatpants and spreading his legs to fuck him stupid, it’s fine! Brett can like, totally control his sexual urges and he’s had to do so for the past few months. These urges have never been so strong but uh, he’s an adult! An adult male with responsibilities! And he has a responsibility not to fuck one of his closest friends stupid!

_I really want to though._

 

“Wait, I get it now,” Aleks chuckles and holds up his hands as he makes his way to Brett. “You’re still feeling weird about what you said to me on the pier, right? Yo, it’s totally cool, I don’t care. I’m fuckin’ honored, actually.”

Brett doesn’t even have enough time to be weird about Aleks bringing up his tipsy confession because the only reason to be weird about it is quickly dashed away upon the reassurance that it’s fine that one of his best friends made him realize he was into guys. After all, it’s the normal progression of friendship, isn’t it? You find somebody you have similar interests to, you go out drinking with them, and then you realize you like the same sex because of how damn hot they are.

… so it's not normal at all but their friendship has sort of veered off on its own unique track after Aleks moved in. Brett’s still trying to make sense of it.

“I’m not being weird about it,” Brett scoffs, then swallows his own words when Aleks rolls his eyes and turns his back to go to the nightstand.

_When did his ass get so thick?_

“Riiiiight,” is all Aleks says as he shoves his phone and wallet into his pants before he turns to face Brett again. “Anyways, do I look presentable?”

“You do, actually.” Brett nods. “It’s uh, heh,” he chuckles, “it’s pretty neat how good you look in my shirts, dude.”

Aleks opens his mouth to say something, it’s probably witty, but whatever it is, he ends up keeping it to himself because he just closes it and smiles as he gives Brett a thumbs up. “Remind me to wear your shirts more then.”

Brett could do that, yeah. Or he could look out for himself and his sanity and like, not do that. Aleks can wear his shirts once in awhile and he doesn’t think it’ll have too big of an effect on him but if he starts doing it all the time? Actually, if Aleks does that, Brett can build up a tolerance to him doing that sort of thing and then it’ll fail to have any effect on him at all! Haha, he’s a mastermind!

 

Brett returns the thumbs up with one of his own and winks at Aleks as he opens their door. “I don’t think I’ll have too big of a problem doing that,” he says.

“Oh yeah?” Aleks raises an eyebrow. “I love it when you get bold.”

Believe it or not, Brett does too. It’s a lot better than being a nervous, stammering wreck and looking like an idiot, that’s for sure.

* * *

 

 

Brett takes the lead over Aleks as they cross the street and when he does, Aleks grabs the collar of his shirt to breathe in the scent of Brett’s cologne. It’s a lovely composition of cinnamon and vanilla which harbors the distinct effect of relaxing Aleks, as well as fully waking him up. He sees no disadvantage to wearing Brett’s shirts at all. They smell good, and he looks good in them by Brett’s own admission…

_“It’s uh, heh,” Brett chuckles, “it’s pretty neat how good you look in my shirts, dude.”_

And instead of telling Brett that it’d be pretty neat how _good_ Brett would look in him, Aleks settled for something a lot more family friendly. There’s only so much Aleks can be bold with Brett about before Brett recludes back into his shell to avoid any and all sorts of more than friendly interaction with him.

It’s a calculated game of Risk they’re playing and if Aleks plays his cards right, the reward will be so worth it, worth more than anything else, but it’s going to take some time.

Unless Brett magically realizes fucking Aleks won’t be the end all be all before RTX weekend is over with. Aleks would love to see the turn of events that would spark that.

They cross the street to the crepe place, which is already buzzing with people. Some of them are regular Austin citizens, dressed in sweats or business suits but some of them are clearly RTX congoers in their various assortments of Rooster Teeth merch, a few even wear Cow Chop merch but thankfully, Geoff calling out for Aleks and Brett prevents them from having to wait in line and talk.

Hey, don’t blame Aleks for not wanting to talk to fans in the morning! He wasn’t going to be rude if he got into conversation with one, he _is_  at RTX, but he came out to breakfast to fill up his stomach and hang out with his friends. Mostly Brett, but the others are cool too, especially Geoff.

 

The hostess allows Aleks and Brett into the patio area to meet up with Geoff, Bruce, and Steven at the table and Aleks’ despondent becomes a lot less cheery when he realizes the only two open seats are apart from each other.

_But I wanted to sit next to Breeeeett… ):_

“How have you fuckers been?” Geoff asks after giving Brett a hug, and then he gives his attention to Aleks. As he looks Aleks up and down, he grins and tells Aleks, “you’re looking real good this morning, by the way.”

“Give this good looking man a hug then,” Aleks says with a smirk of his own as he goes in to hug Geoff and he thinks he feels a burning pair of eyes on him but he can’t exactly tell who and by the time they pull away from the hug, the burning spot in his back cools off to nothing.

Aleks genuinely misses Geoff’s company. They might not work together romantically but Geoff’s still a fun person to be around and he never fails to liven up Aleks’ trips to Austin, or to make his former Colorado and now LA home feel more like a vacation. Aleks still feels at ease with the older man around, still feels like nothing can go wrong.

At the end of the day, Geoff is more of a dad to him than a daddy.

“Hey, Brett!” Bruce calls out with a big smile, beckoning him over with his hands. “Come here, man, we live in the same town but we’re just now meeting up again?! Get over here!”

Bruce is a cool guy too. He also holds the distinction of being a bear in all senses of the word. He has the raw, primal energy of a grizzly bear in the bedroom but when it’s all over with, he turns into a fuzzy teddy bear that never fails in making you feel better. Aleks wishes they fucked more than once, er, more than one night, but he and Autumn had started talking about a week after that and Aleks respectfully kept his distance.

“Hey Cib,” Steven says to his phone camera. “Yeah, it feels like gym class all over again. I actually wish you were here to-”

“Steeeven,” Brett says after hugging Bruce. He walks over to Steven, wrapping his arms around him from behind and smirking into his camera. “You know I’d never forget about you.”

Then there’s Steven. He’s, well, just Steven.

After they all become acquainted with each other again, they take their seats. Aleks can still see Brett from where he’s sat at the very end of the table, but he’s still a significant distance away and Aleks longs to close it. Curse Steven for being in his way! If only there was some way for him to get up and leave the table so Aleks could-

“I’ll be right back, guys, I gotta piss more than that pregnant mom Cib slept with,” Steven says as he stands up from his chair. “If I’m not back, order the Normandie for me.”

“Did he really sleep with a pregnant woman?” Bruce asks, hoping Steven will elaborate.

Steven shrugs and completely fails to do so.

Aleks turns his head to watch Steven leave. He pokes his head back to make sure he’s fully inside before he slips out of his chair to steal the one closest to Brett. Then, Aleks picks up his menu and proceeds to look through it with nonchalance, crossing a leg over the other and he’s only slightly aware of the focused looks Bruce and Geoff are sending his way.

Bruce and Geoff watch as Brett shifts his seat closer before he too, grabs the menu, and they shake their heads at each other and shrug before they pick up their own.

_None of our business._

 

“So what do you usually get when you come here?” Aleks asks as he looks to Brett, who then leans in to look to Aleks’ menu.

“Hmm… trying to remember what I got last time,” Brett says softly.

“I think you’re getting too old,” Aleks teases.

“Good thing older guys turn you on,” Brett retorts. “I think I got the Pomme Cannelle last time.”

Geoff glances up from his menu to look back and forth between the two. “Trying to help Aleks decide? He likes cinnamon.”

“Yeah, he’s obsessed.” Brett rolls his eyes. “He gets Starbucks hot chocolates but gets 1 pump of everything because it, allegedly, tastes like a cinnamon bun.”

“Well you smell like cinnamon so maybe you’re obsessed too,” Aleks points out.

“You smelling my shirts?” Brett asks with a smirk as he sets down his menu, crossing his arms over the table to look at Aleks. “Is that why you wanted to wear it?”

“You’re wearing Brett’s shirt?” Bruce asks with a weird grin.

_I came out here to have a good time and I feel attacked._

“I just wanted to throw something on real quick.” Aleks shrugs. “His shirt was the nearest thing.”

Geoff purses his lips and nods. “Fair enough. Gavin wears my shirts sometime too.”

Aleks darts his tongue out and slowly licks it along his lips before he physically bites back the comment dying to escape.

Of course Gavin wears his shirts. Probably wears his shirts for the same reason Aleks wears Brett’s - it smells and feels like him. That’s a can of worms Aleks doesn’t wanna open up, however, and he still isn’t sure that they even like each other because the only thing he has to go off of is James’ theory and Brett telling him that Gavin gave off a _vibe._

Guys can wear each other’s shirts. Why does it have to be a romantic thing? Girls wear each other’s clothes all the time!

 

“Hey guys, can I start us off with any drinks?” asks the waitress.

“We can actually order our food with that too,” Geoff answers. “I’ll take a Diet Coke and then I’ll order…”

They go around the table, Geoff, Bruce, then Brett, and then it gets to Aleks and he really feels the pressure to find something to pick out but he didn’t really have ample time in making a selection with everybody else talking and now everybody is looking to him, especially Brett, and Aleks wishes Brett was staring at him in a different way but he’s just waiting, wondering when the hell Aleks will order and it takes so long that Steven ends up coming back, wondering why the hell Aleks took his seat before he accepts the hand God has given him, and decides on Aleks’ original seat, and after all that… Aleks is still deciding.

“Uh…” Aleks bites his lip. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“You like cinnamon,” Brett says, “so get what I did.”

“I’m not feeling the apples though,” Aleks sighs.

“Aleks, you gotta pick something, dude.” Brett chuckles. “Close your eyes and whatever your finger lands on is what you’ll get.”

Aleks tilts his head and purses his lips, tapping his finger against the menu. “Yeah, but what if-”

“Oh my god, _dude,”_ Brett laughs and places a hand on Aleks’ shoulder before he looks to the waitress. “He’s gonna get the La Cannelle, extra whipped cream if you could and maybe you can drizzle some more cinnamon on top? Thank you.”

“No problem!” The waitress smiles and holds out her hands to take the menus before she goes to put in the orders.

Aleks ducks his head and scratches at the top of it, torn between leaning into the embarrassment or the hint of flattery that overcomes him at the notion of Brett making decisions for him. He’s a perfectly capable adult male that can make his own choices but there is something oddly sweet about Brett placing his order, even going so far as to ask for extra modifications like he knows for a fact that Aleks will like it.

“I wish somebody could make decisions for me,” Bruce sighs. “It’d make life a whole lot easier.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Geoff mumbles.

“I wasn’t prepared for being an adult,” Steven says as he pouts at the table. “I’m too old for this.”

“Too old?!” Bruce exclaims as his attention snaps to the youngest man of the table. “What does that make me?!”

“And me!” Brett exclaims.

“Me too!” Geoff, the oldest man at the table, adds.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being older,” Aleks chimes in and holds his hands up to show he means no harm. “And if you ask me, the older you are, the hotter. Think uh, two of the guys at this table know first hand, if you know what I’m sayin’.” He smirks and looks back and forth between Bruce and Geoff before what he says dawns on him and then he averts his gaze to the table top.

_Why do I always say shit without actually thinking it through?_

Geoff blinks a few times and tilts his head curiously as he looks to Bruce. “You and Aleks had a thing? Out of curiosity, uh, how long ago was it?”

Aleks makes a note to never say anything ever the next time he finds himself at breakfast surrounded by hot guys and Steven Suptic.

He forgets to act like a normal goddamn person who keeps certain things to themselves. Is it the end of the world if Geoff finds out about him and Bruce? Not at all, but he’d hate to make it awkward between them just because Aleks was confused about the boundaries of how open their relationship was. As far as Bruce was concerned, Geoff was totally fine and accepting with it.

Geoff might be a super understanding guy but they have their limits with how understanding they can be.

 

“Aleks wasn’t talking about Bruce,” Brett says. “He was talking about me, it was like one drunk night a month and a half ago.”

Aleks snaps his head over to look at Brett, widening his eyes to silently ask him, _what the fuck are you talking about?!_

Brett’s eyes widen for a brief moment at Aleks before he gently kicks at his leg to silently answer _, just go along with it._

“Wait, hold on,” Geoff chuckles and sits up straight in his seat to raise a finger, pointing back and forth between the two. “You guys had a thing? Like, recently? You and Aleks?”

It seems like Brett is just as aware of the possible dilemma between Bruce and Geoff, but now there’s a new problem - that dilemma is going to be between _Brett_  and Geoff and the only thing Brett has done with Aleks is kiss him. Like, a lot, to the point where Aleks think he might be trying to compensate for something but Brett’s not going to go further than that. He’s a professional and everybody else knows that. Brett takes his job at Cow Chop more serious than anybody else - some might even say too serious.

He’s sort of putting Cow Chop in an uncomfortable position by making Geoff think he and Aleks slept with each other while they were together but it also absolves Bruce. In a way, it’s actually really sweet how he’s going so far out of his way to help somebody else.

“Brett, I uh, I didn’t even know you were into guys,” Bruce says as he crosses his arms over the table, squinting his eyes questioningly at Brett but right as the table slightly shakes, as if somebody was moving a part of their body underneath (perhaps to kick a certain individual), is when Bruce’s body jolts up straight.

“Yeah, me neither,” Geoff says quietly with narrowed eyes. “Always uh, thought you were straight.”

“I didn’t either, to be honest, but uh…” Brett shrugs and glances over to look Aleks up and down.”I just found the right one to make me rethink it all, I guess.”

Aleks looks back up to see Brett looking into his eyes with a certain glint in his own, as if he’s begging Aleks to see the fine lines in this supposed throwaway comment but thankfully for him, Aleks has been overanalyzing the fuck out of his actions lately so he’s able to piece it together real quick...

_“Wait, hold on,” Aleks chuckles and raises a hand over his chest. “Like… I made you realize you were into dudes?”_

_“Basically.” Brett nods. “Is that cool?”_

… and what he pieces together is that Brett really was being serious that tipsy Fourth of July night. Even better, he doesn’t look to be ashamed of it at all, at least not in this moment.

“Well then,” Steven sighs. “I guess that makes me the token straight guy of the table.”

“Ooh, how the tables have turned,” Geoff chuckles and leans back in his seat, giving Aleks and Brett one more wary glance before he averts his attention to Steven. “Maybe you’re next.”

“I’ll get you hooked up, Suptic.” Bruce nods. “Plenty of guys at Funhaus for you to choose from.”

And then these three head off into their own world of conversation whereas Aleks gets lost in his own sweet universe with the big, strong man beside him.

 

The smallest of smiles displays over Aleks’ lips but it’s enough to brighten his whole face and cast a cheery despondent that infects Brett, causes him to return an even bigger smile. In fact, he looks almost relieved, like a looming weight has been removed from his shoulders.

Brett’s pupils dip down to Aleks’ lips and he rolls his own back between his teeth before he grabs his water to take a quick sip, which also has the effect of immersing him back into reality and Aleks does the exact same thing because he’s feeling a little thirsty himself.

Though their RTX activities haven’t started today yet, Aleks can say that this morning is a huge success.

By the way, the La Canelle Brett ordered for him? That shit was fucking _fire,_ dawg.

* * *

 

 

Surprisingly, the Let’s Play panel is going rather smoothly thus far. Jordan must’ve taken all of the cringe with him when he left earlier that day.

Not many fans have asked Brett too many questions about him or Cow Chop so it gives him the luxury to take it easy and gather the thoughts in his head, like the thoughts that have been whirling around since the interesting breakfast he had with Aleks, Bruce, Geoff, and Steven. After all, he _did_  pretty much tell everybody that he and Aleks slept together so it’s hard for him to not think about the follow up.

 

“I actually have a question for Brett!”

Brett looks up to the redhead fan in a red Cow Chop shirt and smiles, giving her a little wave as he picks up his microphone. “Lemme have it.”

“So it’s actually a question about one of your CCTV podcasts. Uh, you and Aleks kissed-”

The whole audience erupts in low whistles and cheers and everybody sitting next to Brett instantly turns their attention towards him with expecting smiles. Brett bites down hard on his lips in an attempt to keep his facial expression neutral but his face betrays him as hints of reluctance flash throughout.

“- and I was wondering what that’s like? To like, kind of makeout with somebody your good friends with? What was the thought process that went into it?”

He’d really rather not discuss his and Aleks’ kiss to a crowd of over one hundred people. Brett hasn’t even discussed it out loud and now he’s being called out in a panel to do so. It’s something he knew would happen, because socially awkward people is a fact of RTX, but it doesn’t make him anymore prepared than before. It’s like giving a speech in class, you try to prepare for it as much as you can but then the day comes and all your anxieties flare.

Brett wets his lips and opens his mouth to answer but _god damnit,_ Geoff says something before he can.

“Yeah, Brett!” Geoff exclaims into the mic. “What was that like, making out with Aleks?”

He sounds so fucking joyful like always but Brett knows he’s irritated deep down, at the notion that he and Aleks fucked when they were together. It’s not even real but Brett saw how Bruce reacted when Aleks accidentally brought it up and he’s a good guy, he means so well, and Brett didn’t want Bruce to incriminate himself. In that moment, Brett did the first thing that came to mind and he sacrificed himself for Bruce in the line of fire.

How long it’ll be until Bruce tells Geoff the truth himself, Brett doesn’t know, but it at least gives Bruce time to think about what to say. In the meantime, Brett will just have to deal with any uncomfortable tension that brews between him and Geoff. He’s sort of been dealing with tension of many varieties lately.

He makes a note not to convince Aleks to date anybody else in the future.

 

“Let’s see,” Brett says, “my thought process in allegedly making out with one of my coworkers-”

“There was tongue in that kiss, dude,” Geoff interrupts. “We all saw it.”

Brett’s tongue flicks out along his lips and a blush rises to his face when the audience roars with laughter once again. “Okay… um… yeah, so I made out with Aleks. Uh, my thought process was just creating a moment that nobody else would forget, and it’s definitely worked because here you are,” Brett looks up to the fan and waves a hand in her direction, “and you’re asking about it, in public, without a care in the world. As for the kiss itself, uh… I-I don’t know, what are you trying to ask?” he nervously chuckles.

“They’re asking you,” Bruce says, “if it was a good kiss or not. So was it?”

“Yeah,” Geoff adds with a bright smile. “Was it?”

“I need to know,” chimes in Adam Kovic, “because I wanna hop on that Aleks train next.”

The audience chuckles, of course, like this isn’t serious at all but it’s _very_  serious.

That kiss was what set everything off for Brett, Aleks too. Everybody watched it and thought it was a one off passionate kiss solely for entertainment value but there was so much more that happened afterwards, because of it, and that kiss was the start of the butterfly effect that led to him and Aleks being in this weird state of sexual limbo with each other.

It wouldn’t be such a weird state if Brett would just give into his inner desires and push it into that fully sexual zone but, you know, he’s gotta be _professional._ He shouldn’t take any risks.

“My kiss with Aleks…” Brett trails off as he looks up at the ceiling. “My kiss with him… it was uh, actually, it was nice.” He nods. “He has soft lips, they tasted sweet, he didn’t fucking eat my face. I dunno, I don’t have any complaints.” He shrugs and looks back down to the fan.

“Would you kiss him again?” Adam asks.

Brett looks back and forth and narrows his eyes before leaning into the mic. “On the next CCTV podcast…”

Brett’s decision in averting the question with a joke works and the audience erupts into cheers and claps, which thankfully ends the question. It could have gone a lot worse, like, he could’ve admitted that he jerked off thinking about their kiss and that it was so good for Aleks that he wants Brett to fuck him again but he didn’t! So everything is fine!

 

“Next question!”

A fan steps up to the microphone wearing an R and R Connection shirt that looks to be worn way too many times along with a few Achievement Hunter related slap bracelets. He clears his throat and leans in to say, with the utmost confidence, “first of all… MAAAAARK NUUUUUTT!”

The audience is mostly silent, save for a few laughs out of pity.

The fan clears his throat again and runs his hand back through his shaggy brown hair. “Okay, uh, this is a question for Geoff.”

“Goodie, I love talking about myself!” Geoff crosses his arms over the table. “What’s up, my dude?”

“So I just wanted to know why you and Aleks haven’t talked to each other much?” he asks. “Er, at all, actually. The last time you guys talked to each other on social media was like, a little over a month ago.”

They’ve gone the whole panel so far without a cringey question so it makes sense that they’re all piling on top near the end. It’s not an RTX panel without some sort of cringe.

Geoff is the fucking founder of Rooster Teeth though and he’s been doing these conventions for years. This is basically an everyday thing for him, like breathing and brushing his teeth.

He doesn’t take a few awkward seconds to think about answering the question. He just leans back in his seat with the mic, shrugs, and answers as honestly as he can: “me and Aleks broke up about a month ago.”

The crowd “awww’s” and some of them slap their palms over their foreheads because _of course_  that’d be the reason why they haven’t talked so why even ask a question like that but Geoff isn’t done yet. He talks again, his voice commands the attention of everybody in the room, and the audience instantly silences themselves out of respect.

“It’s cool though. And Aleks is real fucking cool, he’s got a bright future and we’re still friends. Some people are meant to be and some aren’t. Love is…” Geoff presses his lips together and shakes his head with a slight chuckle. “Uh, shit, dude. Love is fucking complicated. And messy. And hard. But it’s also incredibly intoxicating. And amazing, and worth it. You…” He swallows and runs the tip of his tongue along his lips in thought, which would be the perfect opportunity for somebody to speak up and holler an outdated meme...

… but the room has gone completely serious. Everybody is sitting up straight in their seats, including the people sitting beside Geoff on the panel. Geoff is like Jesus (with style!) and the room patrons are his disciples, clinging onto every word he’s about to say, Brett included.

“You two might argue and get mad at each other,” Geoff explains. “There’ll be times when you want nothing more than to just slap them upside the head and call them a fucking idiot, but you know that no matter what happens, you can’t live without them. So every fight, every argument, every misunderstanding,” he chuckles but it’s devoid of any humor. Geoff rolls his lips back and bites on the bottom, tapping his fingers against the table. “It’s all worth it, every single damn second. And when you guys are apart, for weeks, for days, for hours, for _minutes,_ it tears you up inside because you feel so empty without them. You want to spend every second of your day with them, doing whatever, just because it means being graced with their presence.”

Brett’s tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek and he looks up to the half empty water bottle, a good resting spot for his eyes so he’s not just staring off into the room. He’s not looking to Geoff anymore but he still listens intently. The words continue to resonate through his being and earth up thoughts that were buried away months priors.

“Love completely consumes and changes you,” Geoff starts again. “You’ll find yourself doing things you never thought you would before, all for this one person. You might even find yourself changing your viewpoints on things because they opened you to a whole new world, who knows, but… yeah, like I said, love is complicated. But it’s worth it.” Geoff finally looks up into the audience, casts a scan over everybody, and he can’t help the small smile at the fact that people are actively listening.

“Don’t be afraid to take risks with love, guys,” Geoff advises. “It’s an amazing feeling when you find that person, trust me. Don’t let anything stop you from going after them. Unless like, they put a restraining order on you,” he and the audience chuckles. “Then they don’t fuckin’ want you, you’re out of luck. So yeah, uh, didn’t mean to get fucking sappy right there and off topic. What’s the next question?”

One of the guardians takes a few seconds to awake from the serious tension of the room but when she does, she holds up her hands in a “T” and shakes her head.

“Oh shit, we’re out of time? Well, okay, uh…”

Geoff goes over a few more quick things with everybody else on the panel before he wishes everybody in the room a wonderful rest of their day and a great RTX experience. The people of the panel stand up and look to each other to begin conversations but Brett stays sat in his seat, and he looks from his hands to the half full water bottle in front.

_“Don’t be afraid to take risks with love, guys. It’s an amazing feeling when you find that person.”_

 

Brett’s phone vibrates in his pocket and he reaches inside to check the notification, a text message from Aleks and a picture. He slides it open to see Aleks in the empty convention bathroom, in front of a mirror, with a badge around his neck and no longer is he wearing Brett’s shirt but rather a long sleeve blue shirt and gray pants with a white baseball cap.

 

 **[Aleks]** You done with the Let’s Play panel yet? I’m here.

 

Brett holds his thumb over the picture to save it to his camera roll before he texts a quick message back.

 

 **[Himself]** Yeah, just wrapping up. Tell me where you are and I’ll come your way.

 

He slides his phone back into his pocket, blows out a breath, and looks off to the side. Even though they were with each other an hour and a half ago, Brett still misses the hell out of him.

It didn’t always use to be like this.

There was a time when Brett only wanted to sleep with Aleks and didn’t miss him such a great amount. The sexual thoughts would happen in passing but it wasn’t something he thought about all the time, like it’s a regular part of his everyday routine.

Then Aleks moved in and his life has never been the same.

Now, Brett wants so much more than he ever did before.

The sexual thoughts were only a blueprint for romantic feelings to build themselves upon and everything Aleks does, everything he says, it affects Brett on some level. Every time he laughs, it makes Brett’s heart race and every time he makes a stupid pun, Brett wonders how the hell he started crushing on such a dork like him. It’s still something he wonders, what moment it was that sparked the shift in feelings, but it doesn’t matter right now.

Geoff said that you shouldn’t be afraid to take risks with love. Brett doesn’t know if he agrees 100% but the more time he spends with Aleks, the harder it is not to take these risks.


	20. Show Me The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett get fucked up on 6th Street for Joe's birthday and things happen.
> 
> So many things.
> 
> So many important things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> ...
> 
> :D

****It’s officially time to get _lit_ and what better way to get lit than to do it on 6th Street, the rowdiest party haven of downtown Austin? Brett and Aleks need to get dressed for the occasion, of course, so after performing their duties at the RTX convention and grabbing dinner, they came back to their hotel room to change into suitable clothes.

Brett unbuttons his shirt all the way and lets it drop to the floor before he undoes his jeans to leave himself in only his gray briefs. He’s about to put on the nicer pair of jeans he has until his phone vibrates on the nightstand and when he walks over to pick it up, he sees a notification from Joe on the lock screen:

 

 **[Joe]** We’re all waiting in the lobby. Ready when you are!

 

“You look like a fucking Abercrombie model, dude.”

Brett raises his eyebrows and turns to face Aleks, now fully clothed in his new outfit, and Aleks’ eyes instantly dip down to his abs. It happens so quick that it’s comical and Brett can’t help but chuckle. “I’d believe that if it wasn’t for my hair,” he says as he runs his hand back against the top of his head. “They’re trying to advertise hot youth and unfortunately, that’s not me. Not that I’ve ever been a hot youth in the first place.”

Aleks holds up a finger before taking off his baseball hat. Then he moves a few steps forward to place it frontwards on Brett’s head. He taps the top and gives Brett two thumbs up before saying, “now you fit right in, dawg.”

“Ah, perfect!” Brett raises his arms, flexes them to show off the muscles, and leans over to kiss one of those muscles. “With this hat, I am indistinguishable from an _actual_  Abercrombie model! Tyra Banks is gonna eat her heart out.”

“She’s not an Abercrombie model though.”

“Because she’s not as hot as _me.”_

“I mean, I’d say an Abercrombie model is the lowest form.”

Brett huffs and pouts. “You’re really downplaying my modeling career,” he says as he walks over to the various bottles of alcohol they have on their mini bar. “I need a few shots to get over this.”

“Dude, you better have thanked those fans for giving you some after the panel,” Aleks says as he walks over to the kitchen to grab a few shot glasses.

“I did! Especially when they told me that this was good stuff.” Brett grabs the bottles and walks with them over to the counter that helps to separate the kitchen from the actual hotel room. “I don’t wanna get drunk right now but you know, a little liquid courage wouldn’t hurt.”

Aleks turns around to set the shot glasses on the counter and when he looks up to see Brett’s exposed chest, his eyes narrow together. “Where’s uh, your clothes?”

Brett shrugs and watches Aleks pick up the nearby bottle opener to open the bottles. “I’ll put ‘em on before we leave. Figured you wouldn’t mind some fan service.”

Aleks waggles his eyebrows while he fills the shot glasses - 3 for him, 3 for Brett. “I do like a big, older guy.”

“Yeah, you pretty much let everybody know at breakfast this morning.”

“And now Geoff thinks we slept together,” Aleks sighs as he grabs his glass. After slamming the shot down his throat, he asks, “why’d you do that?”

“Cause Bruce is a good guy and he definitely wasn’t expecting you to bring that up,” Brett answers. “Figured I could put him at ease a little.”

“You’re too nice.”

“Just helping out a good friend,” Brett says before he slams back his shot.

“Can’t complain.” Aleks picks up another shot. “If you weren’t known for doing that sort of thing, I wouldn’t be living with you.”

Do you really have to be good friends with somebody to let them live with you in dire times? Brett would’ve done it for anybody, like Trevor, or Joe, or Asher… well, maybe not Asher. Brett doesn’t really know him as well as the other two and honestly? He doesn’t really want to.

Alright, maybe you do need to be good friends with somebody to offer them that.

There’s one thing that would set Trevor and Joe apart from Aleks, however, and that’s the fact that Brett would expect them to find their own place. With Aleks, he doesn’t mind spending all the time in the world with him. Aleks can stay with him as long as he wants and Brett doesn’t expect anything besides his constant company in return.

 

“So what do you think’s gonna happen tonight?” Aleks asks as he picks up his 3rd glass. “Besides filming Joe’s birthday video?”

“We’re gonna get _lit,_ my boy!” Brett exclaims before he slams back his 2nd shot with a satisfying _“ah”._ “Ooh yeah, it’s gonna be a fun night. I can feel it.”

“Think we’ll get lucky tonight?” Aleks asks with a low chuckle before he finishes off his last shot - for the moment.

Brett laughs loudly and holds onto his stomach with one hand while the other grabs his 3rd shot. “Dude, hooking up at RTX sounds like a disaster. I’ll like, find somebody and sleep with them and then it turns out they have a prominent Tumblr blog and they just told everybody all about how disappointing I am in bed.”

Aleks scoffs and crosses his arms on the counter as he watches Brett finish his last shot. “Dude, I doubt that.”

Brett licks his lips clean before he mirrors Aleks’ action, looking into his eyes. “Wanna find out yourself?”

“So I’ll be the one disappointing _you?”_ Aleks shakes his head. “I’m good.”

Brett grins weirdly and brings his head back. “Uh, I heard you and Bruce going at it that one night. That’s definitely a lie.”

Aleks has to have that bomb ass, well, ass, if Brett’s going to jerk off in the shower listening to them go at it for only a few seconds. Then again, he’s jerked off to Aleks for much lesser things and he never feels particularly proud doing so but lately, he’s had legitimate reasons to do it. Grinding with him at the club, making out with him at Splash House, and making out with him _again_  at the gym, are all very valid reasons to encourage Brett’s sexual fantasies with Aleks.

Brett will probably do it again at RTX, because he and Aleks will, somehow, make out with each other.

Again.

Brett doesn’t know how it’ll happen, doesn’t know when, but it will. It’s no longer a _what if_ but rather a _when will._

“Wait, you heard us?” Aleks asks with uncertainty. “Were we that loud?”

“It’s not a bad thing to be loud.” Brett shrugs. “I mean, hey, at least you were into it.”

Aleks ducks his head as he reaches to swipe his hat back from Brett’s head. “Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbles before he exits the kitchen to grab his phone and wallet from the nightstand.

Brett blinks a few times as he watches Aleks walk around, eyes lingering on his ass in the tight jeans when he walks back to the bed. “Well, I’ll get dressed and then we can leave,” Brett announces before he tears his sight away to set that attention towards getting dressed.

 

Aleks is wearing a red shirt and tight, black jeans with his backwards black baseball cap whereas Brett is dressed in a teal shirt with a small pocket over the pec, a nice, light pair of jeans and the gray Cow Chop baseball hat. Aleks’ platinum blonde hair pokes beneath the hat and Brett’s beautifully trimmed beard is as dark as the hair that lies on the nape of his neck - he and Aleks come together in a very appealing contrast.

It’d be nice if they _came together_ in different ways too, but one step at a time.

(Slow steps, that is.)

* * *

 

 

Taking those shots before they went out to 6th Street was the perfect idea because Aleks is brimming with energy and confidence now, and he’s much more excited for what lies in the night ahead. After a long day of dealing with fans and his thoughts for the man sitting beside him, getting completely fucking drunk is just what he needs.

“Hey Joe,” Brett says as he slams his empty plastic cup down onto the bar counter. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you Shia Labeouf but I hope Suptic was just as good.”

“He was great,” Joe assures. “It’s the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me.”

“Really?” Aleks asks. “You’re alright with _Suptic?”_

“Duuude, go easy,” Brett says as he looks to Aleks. “Suptic is good people.” He taps Aleks on the nose and then nudges Aleks’ drink towards him. “Be nice.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and quickly downs the rest of his cup. After closing his eyes, he takes in a slow, deep breath so he can really bask in the beginnings of the drunk night.

The quicker he drinks, the quicker he’ll get drunk, and the better he’ll feel. The effects are coursing through him already and while his head is starting to weigh more on his gradually lightening body, his spirit feels free.

The bar is mostly dark, even with the aid of the ceiling fans and plasma screens. The walls are narrow and lined with gray bricks and it serves in closing everybody in on each other. It does expand into a slightly more open area but for the most part, the bar is small and conversations can be heard from all over. Girls are loudly discussing their plans to get laid and guys are yelling at each other to chug shots and close by, Aleks can hear one half of a couple pleading to the other about staying.

Hey, was that Gavin’s name he just heard? Best friend of Geoff, Gavin? Best friend who’s possibly crushing on Geoff, Gavin? _That_  Gavin, of Slo Mo Guys fame?

“Gavin, where are you going?” Meg demands as she follows Gavin through the crowd of people.

_It is!_

Aleks furrows his eyebrows and leans back in his seat to watch her follow an anxious looking Gavin, who suddenly turns around to hold up his hands in front of him.

“I can’t do this,” Gavin tells her. “Look, Meg, it’s not you… and I know it’s cliche but it’s true. It’s not you, it’s me. We need to break up, I’m sorry.”

Brett turns his head to look at the newly broken up couple and he reaches his hand back to tap Aleks. “Did they just break up?” he asks.

“Shhh,” Aleks shushes as he scoots his stool closer to Brett, holding onto his shoulder and leaning in.

Meg’s lips purse out and she looks all around, maybe for a camera or something that shows this is a sick prank, but Gavin is already making his way out of the bar. “Gavin?” Meg asks. “Gavin! Can we at least talk about it?” she exclaims right as she leaves the bar after him.

Brett whistles and shakes his head as he leans back in his stool. “Good luck to them. That’s harsh.”

“Geoff told me they were having problems,” Aleks explains with a frown. “But I feel bad for her.”

“We don’t know ‘em.” Brett shrugs. “Probably a lot more going on that we don’t know about. Oh well. Take a shot with me and then we’ll go around and politely ask people to say nice things about Joe.”

“You mean shove a phone camera into their face and scream at them?”

Brett chuckles and looks to Aleks with a thumbs up. “You’re already one step ahead of me.”

Brett orders a round of shots for their friends and after they all take them at the same time, Aleks picks up his phone and goes around the inside of the bar to film people giving their best wishes to Joe - some like Barbara and Suptic, Cib and Sugar Pine James, along with a few strangers that he vaguely knows, who don’t even know Joe but hey, that just makes the video that much more funny.

Also, Joe is precious and has done nothing wrong ever in his life. He deserves all the good wishes from every single person in the world.

 

They head into a gift shop to find an armadillo for Joe, much like last year, but after Cib badly sprains his ankle inside the store, they deem it bad luck and go right back out. Brett is giving Joe a piggyback ride and Aleks keeps his distance so he can film the entirety of their bodies. His own body slumps as he watches Brett carry him, his hands wrapped around Joe’s thighs, and Brett’s laughter seems to loudly echo throughout the bustling streets.

_I wish it was me on top._

“ALEKS!” James calls out. “ALEKS!”

Aleks turns his camera to face James, who was now lugging around the injured Cib.

“Cib hurt himself, dude,” James says. “It’s not a bit.”

“Dude, it’s totally a bit,” Cib slurs. “I’m fine.”

“No, it’s not!” James laughs. “He’s legit hurt, dude!”

Well this is devolving quite fast, isn’t it? They made some good progress at the first bar but they already have an injury on set, two if you count the emotional injury on Meg’s side, and the injuries aren’t even from their people! Does Cow Chop just bring bad luck everywhere they go, is that it? Whoever makes the mistake of hanging out with them pays the price?

It’s probably why people are afraid to come to their new warehouse. Aleks doesn’t blame them.

Aleks turns the camera to film Brett… but he’s nowhere to be found and he hates himself for the whine he lets out due to that fact.

“Where’s Brett and Joe?” James asks.

“BRETT!” Aleks calls out. “WHEREFORE ART THOU BRETT?”

“BRETT, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?” James calls out. “COME BACK, OLD MAN!”

Ughhh, Aleks hates being without Brett. He should’ve followed him along like a lost puppy and give Brett his leash to drag him along everywhere he goes!

_Don’t think about that too much._

Aleks just feels so much better when Brett’s around, you know? Like nothing can go wrong even though several things have already gone wrong tonight. He’ll look into Brett’s dark brown eyes and get lost, Brett will smile at him, Aleks’ eyes will dip down to his mouth and just like that, he knows everything will be alright.

And everything _is_  alright when a minute later, Brett pops into Aleks’ eyesight with Joe by his side. There’s a halo of light around him, wings are sprouting from his back, and there are angels nearby, dressed in white robes, and they’re playing gold harps in a serene melody. It’s Aleks’ imagination, sure, but this night is blurring together in such a way that he doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore.

 

Brett looks over to Aleks and lazily waves his hand and Aleks comes rushing on over with James and Cib trailing behind.

“We couldn’t find any gift stores up this way,” Brett says as he grabs Aleks’ phone so he can talk right into its lens “There was no _fucking_  gift store and you know the worst thing?”

“What?” Aleks asks as he pulls the phone away.

“I fuckin’ left you for nothing,” Brett answers as he holds out his arms. “Get over here.”

Aleks closes his eyes when Brett tightly wraps his arms around him in a hug and the most electrifying shock lights up his internal circuits, opens up his mind to everything that’s happening inside his body and outside.

The inside of his body feels like a machine that has just been turned on after a long time. It takes awhile to get back online, it needs to search and scans for frequencies, but after that, it’ll be working good as new, ready to flow and align with all the systems.

When Aleks opens his eyes, he can see 6th Street coming alive in front of him. The lights that line the street light up like fireflies and they settle over the dancing people to bathe them in wandering, intoxicating glows.

Then Brett pulls away and it takes mostly everything Aleks is feeling with him, though Aleks can still feel his warmth, still smells the cinnamon vanilla tinted with alcohol, and when he breathes in the scent, the previous feelings flash in his body for a wonderful moment, a moment that lasts for centuries in his electrified mind.

 

“Yo, film some people on this street,” Brett tells him. “I don’t care who. It could be some chick on the corner, just go film them and force them to say nice things about our good pal. I’ll come with.”

Well if Brett is telling him to do that, Aleks can’t say no! Especially if Brett is volunteering to come with him! Just him and Brett, bothering random drunk people on the street! Can it get more romantic than this?

It can definitely get _less_ romantic because everybody sort of follows along, even Steven fucking Suptic and Cib but it seems like everybody wants to be apart of this big, beautiful thing they’re doing for Joe. With their luck, they end up constantly running into their own fans for these video messages and every time, they ask to take a picture but thankfully for them, everybody is too nice in their drunk state to say no.

In the last picture they take, Brett suddenly comes up from behind Aleks to grab and shake his shoulders and Aleks yelps right as the flash goes off. Everybody laughs and moves away from each other while Aleks glowers at Brett, shaking his head while Brett continues to laugh at his irritation.

“Duuude, come on!” Brett laughs. “It was funny!”

“You’re a dick,” Aleks says with a dramatic head shake, as if he was flipping back long hair.

_You’re lucky I want your dick._

“You’re beautiful.” Brett winks and blows Aleks a kiss and before Aleks can properly react, either by slurring some weird thanks or clinging to him right then and there, this fucking short, petite girl with hair whiter than his and striking blue eyes waltzes on up to Brett with a face full of makeup and an admittedly sexy red skirt and crop top with silver heels.

Who the _fuck_  is this chick and why the _fuck_  does she think she can come in HIS house and saunter her way on her way too tall high heels to _Brett?_ It’s not Aleks’ house, they’re not even in a building, but they should be! Because he feels like this chick is invading on something of his and Aleks wants her gone, whether it’s Brett shooing her away or the devils beneath flying up to drag her away.

 

“Brett, you’re my favorite from Cow Chop!” she exclaims as he hands him a black marker. “Can you sign something for me?”

“Do you even have anything for me to sign?” Brett asks as he looks all over. “I would if you did, but-”

“Oh, you can just sign these!” She smiles brightly as she pulls down her crop top enough to show off the tops of her boobs and Aleks’ eyes widen as he takes a few steps back.

This _chick_  has the _audacity_ to show off her _tits_ to _Brett_  and ask for _Brett_ to sign those **_things?!_**   Does she really think Brett will lower himself to do such a thing? Hahaha! Brett has far more decency than that! He would never-

“Yeah, why not?” Brett chuckles as he pops open the cap. “You can brag about this to your friends!”

Aleks does the only thing any jealous, drunk person can do in this situation - mock the person competing against him for Brett’s affection.

Aleks narrows his eyes into a glare and lowers his camera. _“Oh my god,”_ Aleks mocks in a high pitched voice, _“Brett, sign my tits!”_

The girl looks to Aleks with a loud laugh and flips her long blonde hair back behind her shoulder before she looks down to watch Brett scrawl his name. “Hey, I told myself I’d do this! I can’t back out now!”

Ugh! She’s so nice about it too! She probably thinks Aleks is just acting how he usually does for the cameras, being this obnoxious pyromaniac, but he genuinely wants her to go away and _leave Brett alone. Brett is supposed to have fun with me, dude, what the fuck?!_

 _“Sign my ass, Brett,”_ Aleks continues to mock. _“Oh, Brett, can you-”_

“Oh my _god,_ okay, I don’t want you to feel left out,” Brett sighs and walks over to Aleks before he grabs his shoulders to quickly turn him around. He looks to the blonde girl and waggles the marker back and forth in his hands before saying, “I need this for just a few more minutes”, and then he drops to his knees.

“Gonna sign more tits?” Aleks asks. “I’m sure there’s plenty - BRETT!” he exclaims once the hot Texas air ghost over his ass, and he brings a free hand down to hold up the front of his pants so at least his fucking dick won’t be exposed to everybody on 6th Street.

“This night is getting a lot better!” Cib exclaims with a bright smile.

“This is definitely one of the best birthdays I’ve had,” Joe chuckles.

“I wish Lindsey were here to see this,” James mumbles.

That’s when an idea sprouts in James’ head.

He quickly rushes over to steal the phone from Aleks and he takes a few steps back so he can center the camera on Brett and that pale ass.

Brett looks into the lens with a smirk, nodding to further acknowledge it before he looks to Aleks’ ass. He quickly signs his name on the cheek along with a lovely heart and then he gently spanks Aleks’ ass before he grabs the other cheek to give it a good jiggle. “Yeah, that’s how it’s done, baby!”

The blonde woman, Brett, and all of their friends cheer, all except for Aleks who’s quietly staring down at the ground with a face redder than his shirt.

It’s not the fact that Brett signed his ass, though Aleks’ dick does twitch at the fact that Brett literally marked him as his, but because _Brett spanked him._ It was so light that it wasn’t even a spank but it’s the principle of the thing! He had to do it in front of all their friends too and most of the time ( _all_  of the time), Aleks hates degrading shit like that but then Brett does it and… suddenly it’s the hottest thing in the world?

Like, _holy shit,_ he would do anything Brett tells him. Brett could tell Aleks to slather himself in peanut butter and get involved in a 15 hooker gangbang and he’d fucking do that shit, bro.

 

“So like, does that mean you belong to Brett now, dude?” Cib asks.

“He’s belonged to me ever since he moved in, bro!” Brett laughs and hands the blonde her marker back before he grabs the sides of Aleks’ jeans to pull them back up over his ass. “You hear that?” Brett whispers into Aleks’ ear. “ _You belong to me,”_ he chuckles and it comes out in a low rumble against Aleks’ ear.

Aleks wrings the hem of his shirt tightly in his hands upon Brett’s hot declaration and he pushes back on Brett with a grin of his own. “Kinda like the sound of that,” Aleks says in a low voice.

“Yeah?” Brett asks when he moves his hands to hold onto Aleks’ waist before he presses Aleks’ back against his chest. “You belong to me, I belong to you? We got a deal?”

“You’re really speaking my language tonight,” Aleks chuckles and turns his head to look down at Brett’s lips. “Like-

“Hey, guys,” James announces as he points his finger across the street. “Isn’t that the same gift shop we went into last year for Joe?”

_LET ME KISS BRETT, YOU FUCK!_

Everybody’s head follows James’ finger and Brett’s whole face lights up at the realization that James is correct.

“Road trip, boys!” Brett cheers and lifts Aleks into the air and Aleks laughs before Brett sets him back down. “Let’s go!”

This night isn’t going the way Aleks pictured, which is fine because it’s actually going better. Brett’s so touchy feely with him, he’s saying all these hot words that blur Aleks’ fantasies with reality, and Aleks keeps forgetting that they’re not alone. They are, unfortunately, surrounded by people but if they weren’t, Aleks would be throwing Brett against the nearest surface to make out with him.

Actually, Brett should be the one to throw him around. It’s much hotter that way.

 

There’s a lot people coming their way as they walk to the gift store and they keep bumping into Aleks and everybody else, sort of like a pinball machine with the way everybody bounces off each other. Aleks can’t complain too much about it because they push him into Brett and Brett’s so big, he’s so _strong,_ and he’s a solid surface that prevents Aleks from going too far.

With the way Brett suddenly decides to grab his hand, Aleks doesn’t think he’ll be going too far away from him at all for the rest of the night.

“I don’t wanna lose you like I did before,” Brett says against his ear. “You’re stuck with me, dude.”

“I belong to you,” Aleks reminds Brett and looks to him. “I wouldn’t really say I’m stuck with you, in that case.”

Brett chuckles lowly, squeezes Aleks’ hand, and brings his other hand over to cup Aleks’ face before he drops his head into Aleks’ neck. “Mmm, you make me real happy, you know?” he slurs. “I like ya a lot.”

“Yo, dude, I fuckin’ like you too,” Aleks replies back. “You’re just real cool and thoughtful and shit.”

“Duuude, you don’t even know how much I like you,” Brett chuckles again, brings his head back up, and adjusts his hat right as they make it inside the gift shop. “It’s cool, doesn’t matter.”

“I want an armadillo like last time!” Joe says. “How come the last shop didn’t have any?”

“Ever since the last video, they’ve been selling the fuck out, I bet,” James answers. “But it has to be in here. The last shop was cursed but this one? I got good feelings.”

“Woah, dude!” Aleks exclaims as he drags Brett over to a rack of hats. “Joe, dawg, remember when you got these hats last year?”

The hats are brown and furry with raccoon tails on the end. It  _screams_  pussy destroyer.

“I want one!” Brett shouts and raises his hand. “Okay, okay, everybody find a haaaaat. That’ll be your special haaaaat. But Aleks,” he looks to Aleks and wags his finger back and forth between himself and Aleks, “we gotta get the same hat. That’d be sooo cute, dude.”

“Yeah, I feel you.” Aleks nods. “We’ll get the raccoon hats.”

“Hell yeah!” Brett raises his fist. “Bump it!”

After Aleks bumps it (their fists, not their dicks, unfortunately), they reach to grab a raccoon hat for themselves - their special hat that nobody else can have!

Except that’s the hat everybody ends up deciding on and thus, it’s no longer special. Aleks, of course, is heartbroken at the unforeseen turn of events. It’s as sad as the time his parents told him his dog ran away, only to find out that his dog was actually hit by a car. That shit was _soul crushing,_ yo.

Aleks pouts when they walk out of the store and Brett squeezes his hand to get his attention as he asks Aleks, “what’s wrong?”

“Everybody has our hat,” Aleks answers. “It’s not ours anymore.”

Brett sighs dramatically and rolls his eyes before he lets go of Aleks’ hand. “Duuude, this is _totally_  still our hat,” he assures Aleks as he goes behind him to wrap his arms around his waist. “Deep in our hearts, this is _our_  hat. Our hat is different from everybody else’s… cause we  _say_ it is.”

_That makes logical and rational sense to me!_

 

“Now, now, everybody,” Joe speaks in a soft voice as he holds up a hand, a pink ukulele in the other. “Allow me to play a song.”

“Where’d you get that, what the fuck?” Aleks asks.

“He pulled it from his ass,” Brett whispers loudly into his ear.

Aleks shrugs and nods. He finds that answer acceptable.

“So I just wanna thank everyone for coming out to my birthday party,” Joe says as he begins to poorly play the ukulele. “And I’m uh, I’m gonna sing… well, Brett’s gonna sing a song for you all.”

“Absolutely.” Brett nods and releases an arm from Aleks’ waist, tightening his hold on Aleks with the other, and Aleks leans back into his touch to sway his body to the beat of Joe’s ukulele.

“Well you knooow a long time ago, Joe was born to his mother!” Brett sings and snaps his fingers to the beat.

“Knooow a long time ago,” Aleks harmonizes.

“And she LOOOVED him very much!” Brett exclaims. “And that’s why he’s so PURE right inside his heart!”

He slurs some other shit after that, Aleks doesn’t remember, but it was all so beautiful that it brought a tear to his eye at the end. Beethoven heard Brett’s singing too and now he’s crying in his grave and skeletons don’t even have tear ducts so that’s how you know Brett’s lovely singing voice is the real thing.

Joe holds his ukulele up in front of the camera with a smile. “Thank you guys,” he says. “This was the best birthday ever.”

Joe is so pure. He’s too good for this sinful world. He’s done nothing wrong ever in his life, and he deserves everything that is great. He deserves all the love, all the attention, from all the greatest people, and especially Jesus Christ himself. Aleks is compelled to show his love for Joe and while Joe is admiring his ukelele, Aleks grabs his cute cheeks and frames them in his hands so he can press a big, wet kiss to his nose.

“Best birthday _ever,"_ Aleks repeats. He pulls away to smile at Joe and as he gently pats his cheeks, he proclaims, “we love ya, buddy.”

“ALEKS!” Brett whines as he comes up from behind to hold onto him again. “WHAT ABOUT MY KISS?!”

Brett’s kiss? Right, of course! Brett’s kiss! How could Aleks forget! He’s kissed Brett plenty of times so it makes sense that Brett would expect a kiss! Aleks is so rude!

“Sooooorry,” Aleks says as he turns around in Brett’s hold to wrap his arms around his neck. “C’mere, daddy.”

“Duuude, I _love_  when you call me that,” Brett laughs and presses his hands onto Aleks’ back so he can bring Aleks forward. “Give daddy a kiss, pretty boy~”

“I love when _you_  call me _that,”_ Aleks says lowly as he moves forward to seal their lips together, and he moans into Brett’s mouth when Brett’s hands move downwards to grab ahold of his ass, _Brett’s_  ass now, because Brett did sign it - he can do what he wants with Aleks’ ass, with _Aleks_ , oh god, _he can do whatever he wants with me._

Their lips are sealed passionately at first and it’s enough time that Aleks can taste the heavy alcohol in Brett’s mouth, just the same as the taste of his own, but Aleks pulls away before anything extremely notable can happen. Deep down in the back of his mind, Aleks knows this won’t be the last time they kiss tonight, so he has no problems ending it early.

After all, there’s nothing wrong with a little antici…

…

……

………

… pation.

 

It’s hard to not go back in and make out with Brett when Brett’s staring into Aleks’ eyes so hungrily. The street lights really help to light up the darkness in Brett’s eyes, enough for Aleks to catch his dilated pupils quickly darting around his face (though it could just be his imagination, he doesn’t know or care at this point). Brett’s lips are parted open until a hot breath escapes Aleks’ mouth to ghost over his and it causes Brett to roll his lips back with a soft moan.

“You’re so hot,” Brett says quietly. “Do you even know what you to do to me?”

“You know what you do to _me?”_ Aleks asks as he moves forward to press his forehead onto Brett’s. “I wanna just-”

Joe clears his throat loudly and raises an eyebrow at the insatiable duo when they actually manage to tear their gazes off each other to look at Joe.

“Think we can like, go to a bar now?” Joe asks. “Like, a lit one though.”

“LIT BAR!” Aleks shouts as he turns around to face Joe.

“LIIIIIT!” James joins in.

And then Brett sensually whispers the two sexiest words into Aleks’ ear - _“body shots.”_

It’s the greatest idea Aleks has ever heard, ever since he and James agreed to leave the Creatures to form Cow Chop.

“BODY SHOOOTS!” Aleks throws his head back and allows the night to swallow his words. “WHO WANTS TO GET IN ON IT? BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.”

“Body shots ain’t my thing,” Joe says. “But I’m sure we can find a bar that-” Joe stops when James puts a hand around his ear to whisper and he furrows his eyebrows together as he listens to whatever scheme James is trying to pull. Joe’s eyes cast a glance to Aleks and Brett and he whispers a “really?” right before James pulls away.

Joe rolls his lips back and holds his ukulele close to his chest. “Uh, you know what would be a good birthday present?” he asks.

“Anything for you, Joe,” Brett slurs. “You’re the apple of our eyes.”

“If uh.. you did a body shot off Aleks.”

“DUUUUUDE,” Aleks and Brett exclaim, “BEST IDEA EVER!”

Joe looks over to James and James gives him a thumbs up with a wink.

_Mission accomplished._

“Aleks, I got a sick idea, bro!” Brett lets go of Aleks, drops to his knees, and pats his shoulders. “Piggy back ride to the bar, let’s go!”

“I can’t say no to riding you,” Aleks scoffs and walks behind Brett to grab his shoulders. “Do you get it? It’s a sex joke.”

“Oh my god, _Aleks,”_ Brett laughs as Aleks climbs onto his back and he easily stands up in the air with his hands holding onto Aleks’ legs. “Dude, you’re creative. Like, I couldn’t think of that, totally llegit.”

With an eye roll, James turns back to Joe to ask him, “where are we going? Your choice.”

“The Jackalope sounds pretty cool.”

James pulls the directions up on his phone and thankfully, it’s a short walk. Like, a real short walk, it’s only a few buildings down!

The doors to the inside of the Jackalope are wide and tall enough for Brett to easily walk with Aleks through and the bass of the music echoes wonderfully throughout the bar.

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes (Cicada Mix)_**

 

There’s a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and it spins at a steady pace, lights the room and the clusters of people in a dazzling blue gleam while small white orbs swirl around the wooden panel and rustic brick walls.

 

_“I’ll take you to the highest mountain...”_

 

“Me and Joe are gonna get the shots and everything else!” James announces. “You two find a table!”

“Come, pretty boy,” Brett says as he swiftly turns them around. “Let us do what Sir James asks of us!”

 

_“To the depths of the deepest sea...”_

 

“Call me that again, Breeett,” Aleks says.

“Pretty boy~” Brett sings in the sweetest tone as he walks over to the tables. “And here you are, pretty boooy, have a seat right here.”

 

_“And we won’t need a map, believe me.”_

 

“Thank you, daddy~” Aleks sings in an equally sweet tone as Brett sets him down on the table. When Brett stands in between his spread legs to grab at his hips, Aleks can’t help the huge grin that plasters itself over his lips and he asks, “can’t get enough of me, huh?”

“Are you fucking kidding?” Brett breathes out a laugh and licks quickly along his lips. “There’s only too little of you.”

 

_“Now let my body do the moving...”_

 

“You’re an English major, right?” Aleks asks as he holds onto Brett’s shoulders.

“Mmhm.”

“Makes sense that you still have a way with words even when you’re drunk.”

 

_“And let my hands do the soothing.”_

 

“There’s a pretty boy I have to impress.” Brett shrugs and looks down to Aleks’ lips. “Can’t look like too much of an idiot.”

Aleks shakes his head. “I’d never think that about you,” he reveals. “Everything you do is impressive to me.”

 

_“Let me show you the world in my eyes.”_

 

“We should just go back to the hotel room right now,” Brett says as he leans in. “Film our thing for Joe, then just head back with each other, have our own fun.”

Aleks takes a deep breath and rises up on the table. A long sigh parts open his lips before his darkened gaze dips to Brett’s.

_I need him._

Brett’s so _close_  and so is he, he’s right here and Brett’s right _there,_ and it would make so much sense to just move forward right now and claim Brett’s lips again to finish what they were doing earlier on the street. The anticipation has caught up to Aleks and he doesn’t wanna wait, he _can’t_  wait, not when Brett wants him too.

Aleks wrings the fabric of Brett’s shirt in his fingers as he whines, “I want that so bad. I want _you_  so bad.”

“Me too,” Brett breathes and closes his eyes. “Come here-”

“LET’S GET THESE BODY SHOTS ROLLIN’!” James exclaims.

James is Aleks’ best friend but right now, he’s Aleks’ worst enemy. That’s the second _god damn_ **_TIME_ **tonight that he interrupted what could’ve been a really hot moment between him and Brett!! Why is he trying to prevent Aleks from hooking up with him like he’s been desperately wanting since… uh, ever?

Aleks huffs through his nose and looks down to Brett’s lips again. He rolls his own back between his teeth with a small whine but it shifts into a sweet little hum when Brett kisses the corner of his lips.

_Everything’s going to be fine._

 

“Just lay back,” Brett says against his mouth. “I’ll take good care of you, Aleks.”

The kiss is enough to placate Aleks and the knowledge that Brett is going to be doing a shot off his body real soon helps to the placation. Aleks is just starved for affection at this point and he wants so much more than what a body shot offers - he wants the heat of somebody’s body pressed against his, _into_  his, and their skin sliding against each other so much that they forget where their bodies start and end.

Aleks lies back on the table, lets his eyes stare into Brett’s for reassurance, and he watches as Brett’s eyes travel over the entirety of his body. When Aleks lifts the bottom hem of his shirt to show off his stomach, James pours the tequila into his belly button and he gasps at the sudden chill but then Brett’s warm hands grab onto his hips, proceed to run up and down his sides, and the chill is completely alleviated.

“Oh shit, dude,” Joe says as he looks up from Aleks’ stomach to the few grinning people coming their way. “We’re gonna get a crowd.”

 

_“Let me put you on a ship.”_

 

Aleks raises his head to see the people making their way over. There’s a crowd, just like Joe said, but it still feels like there’s only him and Brett. His mind shuts out everything and everybody, and they all go out of focus in a blur of various colors… but then he looks to Brett and the receptors in his mind electrify his veins, transports him into the celestial datastream that houses his and Brett’s fantasy world with each other.

In this world, Brett’s the only entity that deserves his attention.

“We perform for crowds all the time,” Brett reasons. “Only difference now is there’s no camera filming it.”

“You want me to film it?’ James asks.

 

_“On a long, long trip.”_

 

“Nah, this is just between all of us,” Brett answers as he grabs the lime to place into Aleks’ open mouth, watching him gently bite down on the fruit to keep it in place before he reaches for the salt shaker. “You want this, Aleks?”

Aleks nods quickly and watches Brett sprinkle the salt in a somewhat jagged line over his belly button.

“You really sure?” Brett asks.

Aleks slams his eyes shut and nods again with an irritated groan before his eyes widen open to stare pleadingly at Brett.

 

_“Your lips close to my lips...”_

 

James, Joe, and the people around them are chanting, “SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!” and they’re all pumping their fists in the air with excitement. Everybody stares at the blonde on the table and the big man between his legs, the both of them buzzing with adrenaline, their bodily vibrations multiplying with each other.

Brett reaches to grab Aleks’ hands in both of his to pin them by the sides of his head and a few people in the crowd give low whistles, they eagerly look on as Brett’s head moves down to Aleks’ stomach.

Aleks curls his fingers against the back of Brett’s hands to squeeze tightly and his chest quickly rises up and down. It tenses when Brett’s hot mouth places itself over his stomach and Brett tantalizingly licks the beads of salt off his skin before he presses a kiss over the belly button. Brett lids his eyes open to stare up into Aleks’, making sure that Aleks is watching him, as he dips his tongue into Aleks’ belly button to gather all the tequila.

 

_“All the island’s in the ocean...”_

 

Aleks’ eyes flutter shut and he moans around the lime as his head rests back on the table. He squeezes Brett’s hands harder, the hardest he can, and tries to drag his nails against the skin in a last ditch effort to pull Brett up. He wants to spit the lime out of his mouth and beg Brett to take him back to the hotel room, fuck him into the next day, but this time, Brett is one step ahead of him.

After lapping up all the tequila from Aleks’ belly button, Brett leaves a rapid path of kisses up the center of his torso, mouthing up the column of his neck and kissing his jaw before he bites down on the lime in Aleks’ mouth. He sucks on the juices briefly, enough to savor their taste, before he spits it out to the side and then it happens.

It happens and it’s the best fucking feeling in the world.

 

_“All the heaven’s in motion...”_

 

Brett smashes his mouth onto Aleks’ with the loudest moan Aleks thinks he’s ever heard from anybody before, the _hottest_  moan Aleks _knows_  he’s ever heard from anybody before, and Aleks one ups it with moan of his own that rivals Brett’s in volume.

The machine that is Aleks’ body turned on earlier and while it took some time to insert itself back into the mainframe of reality, all systems are now ready to fire on all of their cylinders and Brett’s soft, plush lips were just the thing to give his body that boost.

Aleks was missing a crucial system part but Brett was exactly what he was searching for. With this part, everything can now align itself to seamlessly interject in the fast paced continuous flow that has been this crazy night so far.

 

_“Let me show you the world in my eyes.”_

 

Brett lets go of Aleks’ hands so he can wrap his arms around his waist, he lowers his chest onto Aleks’, and he releases a soft moan at the shared body contact when he pulls Aleks up from the table. Aleks wraps an arm around Brett’s neck, threads the fingers of his other hand into the back of Brett’s hair under his hat, and curls his fingers against the strands to give a good tug that forces Brett’s mouth open enough to accept his greedy tongue.

A sigh expels from Aleks’ nose, a relieved one at the notion that he’s as close as he can be with Brett, but he still hitches closer in the chance that there’s a modicum of space that can still be filled, and there was, and he moans when he fully seals that distance. Brett’s tongue pushes against Aleks’ before it circles around, Aleks’ tongue circles around his, and their tongues slide out of each other’s mouths so they can take turns in biting at each other’s lips, so desperate to taste even more of each other.

There’re other people in the bar and most of them are looking towards their way but despite the watching eyes, the loudness of the music, and the brightening of the lights, they’re only aware of each other; the other’s scent, the other’s heat, that’s all that makes sense in their minds.

Thus it’s the only thing their shared minds acknowledge.

Out of everything in this world, the only thing that makes sense to Aleks and Brett, in their drunken state of mind, are each other.

 

Why should they pay attention to anything else?

And why should they _be_  with anyone else?


	21. Sunrise To My Endless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a drunk night gone awry, Aleks decides that he desperately needs to suck up to Brett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this Chapter is a bit late in being uploaded and I apologize. Considering the uh, THINGS that happened on this particular date, I was in a big mood and feeling sad.
> 
> That said, this fic is still going to be published over the weeks so don't worry! It is also a double upload week so Chapter 22 will be published Friday!
> 
> And without further ado, here's Chapter 21 and I hope you enjoy it! It's a good one too~

******[** **♪ ]** **_Dana Jean Phoenix - Losing Your Grip_**

 

Brett’s sort of lost track of how long he’s been making out with Aleks in this bar.

They’ve been taking breaks in between to drink more shots and loudly interject into their friend’s conversations but then Aleks will give him this _look_  or brush his fingers along Brett’s chest and every single time, Brett pounces on him.

The sober part of Brett deep down, _very_  deep down is clawing at his brain’s frontal lobe, yelling about how Brett needs to be professional and kick Aleks off his lap but the drunk part of Brett AKA the other 99.9% of his body, laughs and leans back in a lounge chair, takes a puff of a cigarette, and tells Brett to fuck being professional right in the ass.

He’d much rather fuck Aleks right in the ass, if he’s being honest with himself. Hey, why not fuck Aleks right in his pretty ass? What the hell is keeping them at this bar- ahhh, Joe’s birthday. Right. They’d be bad friends if they left...

… unless they both film a birthday message for him! That’s a great idea, they’ll do that and then they’ll catch an Uber back to the hotel. It’ll be fine! More and more people from Rooster Teeth and various groups of the Let’s Play family have entered the bar to see him so he and Aleks won’t be missed at all.

 

_“Just go with how you feel! When you’re losing your grip…”_

 

Brett tightens his hold around Aleks’ waist and with the other hand, he grabs the back of Aleks’ hair to gently coax his head back, relishing in the moan Aleks gives as he surges forward to latch his teeth onto his collar bone to suck on the skin.

“I wasn’t done kissing youuu,” Aleks whines. “Come back.”

 

_“It is fantastic. Losing your grip…”_

 

“Hey,” Brett mumbles, “I know what I’m doing.”

Aleks closes his eyes and relaxes on Brett’s lap, moving his hands from Brett’s shoulders downwards to grab onto the collar of his shirt.

 

_“It is fantastic… let’s go!”_

 

After about a minute, Brett pulls away and kisses the spot - there’s no evidence of his doing but that’s fine, he’ll try to make up for it tonight. He then proceeds to kiss back up to Aleks’ lips to leave one more chaste kiss before he loosens the grip on his hair. “Wanna head back to our room? Continue it there?”

“Dude, fuck yes,” Aleks laughs with excitement and tries to climb off Brett’s lap, pouting when Brett tightens his hold even more. “Come onnn, let’s go!”

“We need to leave a birthday message for Joe!” Brett tells him as he grabs the phone that James left behind. “Bro, we would be terrible friends if we didn’t do that for him!”

“Duuude, you’re so right,” Aleks gasps and moves his arms to wrap them around Brett’s neck, hitching himself higher on his lap to get closer. “We double teaming this shit?”

“Brooo, _yes,_ you know it!” Brett laughs and presses a big, wet kiss to Aleks’ cheek before he holds up the camera, turning it on and trying his best to center the frame on their bodies. “Okay, how are we gonna start this?”

 

_“The world is going to tell you, you can’t have it all.”_

 

“Lemme do it, gimme.” Aleks takes an arm off and waggles his fingers back and forth, smiling when Brett hands him the camera. Aleks is closer in the shot but for the most part, they’re centered. “You first.”

“Joooooe,” Brett starts. “Happy birthday, bud, I love you soooo much. I’d… I’d die for you, dude, you’re great. Mmm, what about you, Aleks?”

 

_“The higher that you climb, the greater you might fall.”_

 

“Hey Joe, it’s Aleks,” Aleks introduces. “I love you too, probably more than Brett does- Brett, stop!” he laughs and slightly brings his head away when Brett hides his face into his neck to start kissing along it. “Breeett!”

“Sorry, I can’t help myself.” Brett’s chuckle rumbles against Aleks’ neck. “Okay, sorry, Joe.” He hums and looks up into the camera. “Didn’t mean to steal Aleks away from you.”

 

_“So when you reach your stars, your heart will not stand still.”_

 

“But he kinda has to real soon, because we’re about to go back to our hotel room annnd suck each other’s dicks.” Aleks looks down to Brett and raises his eyebrows. “Right, Brett?”

Brett winks and gives the camera a thumbs up. “Exactly.”

Aleks smiles proudly and nods before the camera receives his attention again. “Love you, Joe! See ya tomorrow, bud!”

 

_“But don’t you be afraid…”_

 

After setting the camera back on the table, Brett suddenly stands up from the booth with Aleks in his arms and he allows Aleks’ feet to settle on the floor before he pulls him back to his body for another kiss.

 

_“Just go with how you feel! When you’re losing your grip…”_

 

Aleks moans softly and rests his hands on Brett’s chest, wringing his fingers in the fabric of his shirt as he tilts his head to deepen the kiss.

Brett tilts his the opposite way and trails his tongue along the line of Aleks’ lips, grins when Aleks parts them open in a silent invitation. He pushes his tongue inside the treasure that is Aleks’ mouth and explores every crevice, every ridge, because simply finding the treasure isn’t as great as diving into it and really enjoying the unique experience that it offers.

 

_“It is fantastic.”_

 

This night so far has been filled with Aleks and it’s consumed Brett entirely in desire. The only way to rid of it is to act on every single thoughts he’s had about Aleks tonight and all the previous nights that date from days and months back and then, maybe then, he can wake up from this endless night that Aleks has put him in.

But in Brett’s drunken state of mind, he doesn’t understand why an endless night with Aleks could ever be a bad thing.

* * *

 

 

Aleks shoves Brett against their hotel door and moves forward to claim his lips but Brett moves his head to the side just in time.

“Do what you want inside our hotel room, okay?” Brett asks as he reaches inside his pocket to fish for the keycard.

“Awww, come on, daddy,” Aleks chuckles lowly. “You know you wouldn’t mind fucking me out here.” Aleks wraps his arms around one of Brett’s as he dips his face into Brett’s neck. “Mmm, you’re such a good daddy.”

Brett blows out a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Don’t call me that out here, otherwise I’m gonna throw you down and I’d rather not get put on the sex offender list for public nudity.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and sighs. “Fiiine,” he says. “Open the door.”

“Not exactly in the right state of mind to do that easily,” Brett chuckles and bites down on his lips in concentration as he presses the keycard to the door slot, maneuvering it until he can push it inside. He smiles when he hears the ding and after shoving the card back into his pocket, he pushes down on the handle and backs up against the door.

“Pretty boys first,” Brett says as he motions Aleks inside, eyes dipping down to Aleks’ thick ass as he walks in front.

“You’re a gentleman.” Aleks winks and steps inside their hotel room. “So where do you want me? We could…” He starts to rattle off a surprisingly long list of locations but whatever they are, Brett has tuned it out to stare at Aleks’ backside.

_I’m gonna fucking destroy him._

Aleks is skinny but there’s a slight curve to his hips that makes it so easy to grab him and force him into whatever position and there’s a lot of position Brett wants to contort him in.

He’d love to push him onto his hands and knees or flip him onto his back, spread his legs wide open, or he could just lie back and watch Aleks fuck himself on his cock. Those are the traditional positions but Brett has thought of the more out there ones too. Really, he’s game for anything that involves his dick in Aleks’ ass.

One thing’s for sure tonight - he’s going to be the big, strong man that Aleks has always dreamed of.

 

Brett comes up behind Aleks so when Aleks turns around, Brett already has a hand roughly grabbing his chin. The other hand grabs his shoulder to force Aleks back to the door and Aleks whines when the door hits his back, raises both of his hands up to grab the wrist on his chin.

“You gonna be a good boy for daddy, tonight?” Brett asks.

“Of course,” Aleks breathes out. “I’d never be anything else, daddy.”

“Good boy,” Brett praises. “Give daddy those lips, baby.”

His eyes lid shut as he presses his mouth onto Aleks’ for the… god, millionth time? They’re kissing so much that Brett is starting to lose count and he’s glad they’re at that point now. It’s no longer a once or twice kind of thing but a _many_  kind of thing and Brett just hopes the same can be said for everything else they’re about to do with each tonight.

The kiss he gives Aleks is more of a way to establish his dominance over him for their activities tonight.

Brett mainly bites and sucks at Aleks’ lips and Aleks doesn’t do anything but moan and part his lips wider so Brett can do these things and it’s more intoxicating than any alcohol Brett’s had that night, putting Aleks in such a submissive position. He’s well aware that Aleks hates to take on that role but he’s taken it on so naturally for him so far and Brett’s proud, relieved, satisfied, he’s every feel good emotion in the book.

 

Brett licks up the middle of Aleks’ lips with a quiet groan before he pulls his head away. “Bed?” he asks, and after Aleks quickly nods his approval, Brett fists a hand in the collar of Aleks’ shirt to drag him towards the path of the beds before he throws Aleks down onto the mattress.

“Take off your clothes,” Brett says in a firm tone. “All of them. Daddy wants to see all of you.”

“Ooh, daddy,” Aleks purrs with a smirk. “Anything for you~”

Aleks sits up on his knees to throw off his hat and then he lifts his shirt up and over his head. He flings it to the side and his jeans are quick to follow, pushing them down along with his boxers and kicking them off his legs so they can join what will be an everpiling of clothes. He backs up on the bed and spreads his legs, swallowing back nerves as his eyes gaze up to Brett’s for his reaction.

“Jesus christ,” Brett breathes as he stalks forward to the bed. “Look at _you,_ baby,” he purrs, throwing off his hat as he climbs onto the bed, which dips underneath with his body weight. “You are so fucking gorgeous, you have no idea.”

He’s seen Aleks shirtless, he’s seen Aleks pantsless, he’s seen him totally naked, but never like _this._ There’s a slight pudge to his stomach but Brett finds it as endearing as the rest of his perfect body. Brett rests his hands on Aleks’ knees and runs them down his thighs, such _soft_  thighs, and his hands run up his stomach and chest to confirm that the skin there is just as soft.

Aleks hums as Brett’s hands roam the canvas of his body and he spreads his legs more for Brett can move closer. “So you like what you see?” he asks as he watches Brett’s big hands. “Can I get a look at daddy’s body next?” He raises his eyebrows and flickers his eyes back to Brett, licking along his lips in hopeful anticipation.

“Yeah, anything you want,” Brett replies as he grabs the hem of his shirt. “Daddy’s just as willing to do anything for you. Remember what I said, after I signed your ass?”

Aleks smiles at the memory and nods, his chest tensing as Brett’s built, hairy torso comes into view. “Yeah. That I belonged to you?”

“And that I belong to _you?”_ Brett reminds him. “This is a two way street.”

“But daddy still calls the shots, right?”

Brett grins and nods. “Exactly. Just because daddy knows what’s best for you, you know? He knows how to make you feel good.”

Aleks leans his head back and closes his eyes with a moan as he runs a hand down his chest to grab his cock. “God, I’ve wanted this for so long,” he groans as he slowly jerks his hand up and down. “I want you to fuck me so bad, Brett.”

“You’re fuckin’ telling me,” Brett breathes out a chuckle as he undoes his belt, then his jeans so he can push them down with his briefs. “You’ve been driving me crazy since you moved in.”

“Wanna tell me how?” Aleks asks as he opens his eyes again, watching as Brett throws his pants to the side before getting back in between his spread legs.

“Cause you’re around me all the _fucking_  time,” Brett growls through gritted teeth as he snags Aleks’ hand away from his cock. “And I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Yes you could,” Aleks argues. “All you had to do was just like… I dunno, pull my pants down and fuck me.”

“It’s not that easy.” Brett shakes his head and positions his cock over Aleks before he settles on top of him to grind their lengths together, lidding his eyes shut with a long moan.

His body feels like it’s on fire. All of the receptors have overheated and short circuited themselves into a nasty explosion throughout to fill him with pleasure. It’s such an overwhelming sensation, _too_  overwhelming, and Brett actually wonders if he can handle it. After yearning for Aleks for so damn long, the smallest touch is enough to completely grab hold of him and his spirit, leeching all of his energy.

 

“Fuck, Aleks, I’ve wanted to fuck you so fucking bad,” Brett breathes out a laugh, “and it was so _fucking_  hard to keep it back,” he admits as he drops his head into Aleks’ neck, his _warm_ neck that Brett just wants to bury himself in and never leave.

“Nothing’s holding you back anymore,” Aleks moans as he holds onto the back of Brett’s head with both hands. “There was nothing holding you back, you should’ve just fucked me. I would’ve loved it so much.”

Brett shakes his head again and mouths a kiss onto Aleks’ neck as he grinds against him faster. “Couldn’t. I still probably… still fuckin’ shouldn’t right now but I can’t fuckin’ do this anymore. I want you, **I need you,** ” he growls again and takes the hands off his neck so he can pin them by the sides of Aleks’ head.

Their naked bodies warm each other up so fast and it’s almost like a blanket, the way it heats Brett up and shrouds him in this safe veil. Brett wants to like… get lost in it… sleep in it… and they’ve done so much tonight so who could blame him for falling asleep, right? But Aleks is so perfect and Brett has been wanting this all _night..._

“Daddy,” Aleks moans. “Fuck, I need you in me so bad, daddy, you feel so _good._ Just take me, please.”

“Gotta have fun with you, first,” Brett murmurs. “It’s gonna feel sooo much better when you’ve waited so long for it.”

He could fall asleep on top of Aleks… and wouldn’t that be nice? If he could wake up to Aleks in the morning?

“I’ve been waiting fucking months for it,” Aleks sighs and curls his fingers into the backs of Brett’s hands, trying his best to roll his hips up into Brett’s.

“Me too, I know what it’s like,” Brett concurs. “But just listen to daddy, he knows what he’s doing.”

_Daddy’s so… sleepy..._

Every time Brett blinks, his eyes lid more shut and his body slowly begins to relax without his consent. He’s a victim to his own urges, every single one of them tonight. He breathes in deeply, exhales against Aleks’ neck, and his hands loosen their grip on Aleks’.

 

“At least finger me?” Aleks asks as he moves his hands to Brett’s back. “Pretty please, daddy?” he purrs into his ear. “You’d be such a good daddy if you did… daddy?”

Aleks looks down to Brett’s head and furrows his eyebrows together. “Brett?” he asks in a normal tone, gently patting his head. “Brett?”

_Zzz… zzz…… zzz……..._

* * *

 

 

**July 8th, 2017**

 

Aleks rubs at his eyes and lids them open to stare ahead at the alarm clock on the nightstand - 7:32 AM.

It’s the second day of RTX. The sun is shining brightly through the blinds, the birds are chirping a lovely tune, and somebody’s arm is wrapped around his waist and their hard cock is pressing against his ass… wait, who the fuck is behind him anyways?

Aleks is about to turn around and find out but his phone vibrates and he reaches over to see a new text from Geoff.

 

 **[Geoff]** Looking forward to being with you on the podcast today!

 **[Geoff]** Also, I heard you and Brett had uh, a fun time last night at the Jackalope.

 

_“There’s a pretty boy I have to impress.” Brett shrugs and looks down to Aleks’ lips. “Can’t look like too much of an idiot.”_

_Aleks shakes his head. “I’d never think that about you,” he reveals. “Everything you do is impressive to me.”_

_“We should just go back to the hotel room right now,” Brett says as he leans in. “Film our thing for Joe, then just head back with each other, have our own fun.”_

_Aleks breathes in deeply and rises up on the table, a long sigh parting his lips as his gaze dips to Brett’s.  As he wrings the fabric of Brett’s shirt in his hands, he whines, “I want that so bad. I want_ **_you_ ** _so bad.”_

Holy fucking shit, the dude behind him is Brett! He and Brett really almost fucked each other last night… until Brett fell asleep, ugh, why did he do that! Aleks only teases him for being an old man, he doesn’t have to fall asleep like one!

Aleks stills when he hears Brett awaken behind him and his eyes close when Brett’s lips flutter softly against his neck. He can’t help but press back against his ass and hum his consent, tossing his phone back onto the night stand before he holds onto the arm around his waist.

At least he’s awake now. Aleks doesn’t mind continuing what they started last night, just as long as Brett gets to fuck him once before this trip is over. It would be a huge disservice to the both of them if they tried to ignore last night and cast it aside as some weird drunk shenanigans because they might’ve been drunk but Aleks meant everything he said. He doesn’t mind at all telling Brett that too when he wakes up because he knows Brett feels the same way.

No man who makes out with him for _that_  long in a bar is doing it just because he’s drunk. There has to be some deep fucking reasoning behind it.

 

“Good morning, beautiful,” Brett murmurs into Aleks’ ear.

“Good morning, handsome,” Aleks murmurs back with a smile.

“... Aleks?”

“Who else?”

“Fuck,” Brett whispers loudly to himself and shoots up straight on the bed, holding the blankets over his lap. “Do you remember what we did last night?”

_And everything we didn’t do._

“Pretty much.” Aleks turns around to face Brett and sits up to stretch out his arms with a yawn. “It was nice, even when you fell asleep.”

“Oh god, I did fall asleep,” Brett whines and runs his hands down his face. “Fuck, I can’t believe I did that.”

“It’s cool, dude,” Aleks assures as he reaches forward for the blankets over Brett’s lap. “We’ll just try again right now, don’t-”

“Nooooo,” Brett laughs nervously and climbs off the bed, looking down to see his hardness and immediately reaching forward for the pillow.  “We shouldn’t have done anything in the first place. That can’t happen again. Whatever we did in this room, stays in this room.”

Oh for god fucking sake, is this because of his whole professionalism thing or whatever? Who the fuck cares, old man! Aleks wondered what the fuck it was when he was drunk last night but now that he’s sober, he knows exactly the reason why Brett would be hesitant and it’s incredibly asinine.

Nobody’s going to give a fuck if they fuck each other. Maybe they’d care if it was a relationship but Aleks isn’t asking for that! He just wants Brett to be his daddy and dick him down, he’s not asking for a whole lot else here.

_Wait, what was that last thing he said?_

“Whatever we do in this room…” Aleks raises his eyebrows. “Stays in this room? That’s what you said?”

“Yeah.” Brett shrugs and slowly lowers the pillow from his crotch.  “We don’t speak of anything that happened in this room outside of it.”

Aleks purses his lips with a nod and drops his gaze to Brett’s… fucking thick erection, oh fuck, that’s thick. It’s thicker than Geoff’s and Aleks thought that was thick as it got, _fuck me, dude._

“So uhh…” Aleks crawls to the edge of the bed and snatches the pillow from Brett’s hands to toss behind him. “I can get rid of that for you real quick and as long as it stays in here, it’s cool?”

Brett widens his eyes and he holds up a finger with another nervous chuckle. “No, _no,_ that’s not at all what I said. You’re like, misunderstanding my words to fit your own agenda.”

“And that would be?”

“Me fucking you?”

“That’s exactly it, dawg. I love when you’re perceptive.”

Brett sighs and lids his eyes to stare at Aleks with a bored look. _“No,”_ he says firmly before he walks around the bed.

Aleks rolls his eyes and follows Brett along the edge of the bed. “Dude, we already crossed a line last night. We’re just finishing what we started.”

They don’t even have to fuck! Aleks is fine with giving Brett a good ol’ handjob… er, maybe a blowjob would be better. Or a mix of the two, considering Aleks doesn’t have a gag reflex worth a penny but the point is, it’s not this big deal that Brett thinks it is.

He’s not Jordan and Aleks isn’t Stef. He’s Brett and Aleks is… Aleks. They’re entirely different people and Aleks thinks that they’d handle it pretty damn well. They won’t let having sex with each other turn their workplace into a toxic environment. It’ll only be a big deal if they let it be one and only Brett thinks so - it’s up to Aleks to convince him otherwise.

They almost fucked last night so it’s obvious on some level that Brett doesn’t wanna hold back.

 

“Nah, it’s cool,” Brett says as he makes his way to the bathroom. “I’ll just jerk off in the shower like I always do when I wake up like this. It’s fine.”

Aleks pokes his tongue around the inside of his cheek and looks up to the ceiling, hoping that he can look through it to the gods above and ask for some sort of help but no sort of otherworldly being is going to help him with this ordeal.

He shakes his head and quickly climbs off the bed so he can follow Brett. “I have a fucking hand and a mouth and I’m right god damn here, man, just lemme do it for you.”

“Okay, how many times do I have to tell you that _this,”_ Brett looks back to Aleks and wags a finger back and forth between the two of them, “can’t happen? It was one drunk night, Aleks.”

Aleks narrows his eyes into a heated glare at Brett’s back and watches as Brett goes to the closet to grab a towel.

This is so fucking ridiculous, like, who is Brett trying to kid here? The only person he’s fooling is himself and Aleks still has doubts about that because everything Brett said and did last night is evidence to the contrary. Brett wants Aleks and Aleks wants him, they both want each other so fucking bad and it’s out there now, they both know it, and Brett’s only going to make this harder on himself by acting like he can easily sweep this under the rug.

Then an image from last night flashes through Aleks’ mind.

_“Sooooorry,” Aleks says as he turns around in Brett’s hold to wrap his arms around his neck. “C’mere, daddy.”_

_“Duuude, I love when you call me that,” Brett laughs and presses his hands onto Aleks’ back so he can bring Aleks forward. “Give daddy a kiss, pretty boy~”_

… and it gives him just the thing he needs that’ll hopefully steer Brett in the right direction.

 

Aleks blows out a breath and slowly walks up to the bathroom doorway. As he leans back against it, he asks, “you really don’t want me to suck you off, _daddy?”_

Brett’s hands still as he sets his towel on the counter and he stares down at the white material. He nibbles at his bottom lip as the tips of his fingers break free from their frozen state to gently scratch against the towel.

_Got ‘em._

“Hmm?” Aleks raises an eyebrow and leans back off the wall. “Could you imagine me on my knees for you, daddy?” he continues.

“You really shouldn’t be saying that,” Brett says quietly.

“Why not?” Aleks asks. “Does it turn you on?”

Brett exhales a long sigh and looks up to the ceiling, running his tongue along his teeth. “Aleks… it’s like… it really-”

“It really what?” Aleks’ gaze dips to Brett’s hand and with a small smile, he moves his own hand to gently grab Brett’s to bring it to his mouth. “Go on. Why don’t you want me to say it?”

Brett swallows and watches Aleks hungrily surveys his fingers. “It’s… when you…”

“Yeah?” Aleks looks up to Brett and tilts his head as he brings up his other hand to join the other grasping Brett’s. Both hands cling to Brett’s hand and Aleks takes a deep breath before he presses a lingering kiss to the top of Brett’s knuckles. “When I… what?”

It’s incredibly risky to be so bold like this but clearly that’s the only option if Aleks wants any chance to do _anything_ with Brett _at all._ That’s why this calculated game they’re playing is called Risk, after all.

“Fuck, Aleks,” Brett breathes. “Look, it’s seriously the hottest _fucking_  thing when you call me that but-”

“But what?” Aleks interrupts. “We shouldn’t?” he asks as leaves a kiss to Brett’s finger, which voluntarily offers itself. “It’s just a blowjob, Brett,” Aleks assures him with a soft voice. “One blowjob, that’s it. It’s not going to kill you.”

It’d be different if Aleks was asking him out, but he isn’t. He doesn’t like Brett like that.

He just likes Brett’s dick… he thinks he’d like Brett’s dick, anyways.

With like, 100% certainty.

 

“Maybe, but _this_  is killing me,” Brett sighs, looks off to the side, and runs his hand back through his hair. “Fuck, you’re… why do you have to be so hot?” he breathes out a laugh and shakes his head before closing his eyes and taking slow, deep breaths, in and out. “So fucking stubborn and hot. But you and I, we...” Brett bites at his lip and grabs ahold of the hair laying at the nape of his own neck, to keep him grounded in the realms of reality.

It seems like he’s at least giving the proposal some thought but Aleks still doesn’t know for sure if he’ll agree or disagree and it kills him, not knowing if it’s a 100% or 0% - the two definite possibilities.

Aleks gently bites at his bottom lip and his gaze dips to Brett’s. His thumbs tap back and forth against Brett’s hand in further thought.

He’s taking a lot of risks right now but they all seem to be paying off. What’s one more little risk going to hurt?

After a few moments, he wets his lips and moves his mouth by Brett’s ear, exhaling hotly against it. “Pretty please, daddy?” he asks in the sexiest voice he can muster and it borders on whimpering, on submitting, and Aleks hates to submit but Brett was really into it last night and Aleks needs to pull out all the stops to get what he wants, what Brett wants, what _they_  want - it’s all for a greater good.

“God damnit,” Brett sighs and looks down to Aleks pleadingly. “Just one?”

**_!!!!!_ **

Aleks’ face lights up with a nod. “Yeah, just one.”

Brett sighs again and closes his eyes with a whine. “Fiiine, just one,” he says as he shimmies out of Aleks’ grip so he can grab one of his hands. “Seriously, that’s it.”

Aleks smiles brightly and allows Brett to lead him back to the bedroom. “Fine by me, dude, let’s get this show on the road.”

Aleks is fine with that because one blowjob or handjob or whatever the fuck from him will be enough to convince Brett that this excuse of professionalism is stupid. He’ll feel Aleks’ wet mouth around him, sucking the head of his dick so good, and Brett will wonder why the fuck he kept himself waiting for so long. Aleks is a guy too, he knows how their minds work.

 

“So do you just like…” Brett looks around the room. “Want me to sit on the bed, or-”

“You can sit there.” Aleks points to the ottoman like bench at the foot of the bed. “Really doesn’t matter. Honestly, I just wanna get your dick in my mouth already.”

Brett chuckles and scratches the back of his head as he turns to sit back on the bench. “You’re uh, really about to suck my dick, huh?”

_About fucking time too._

Aleks shrugs. “We almost fucked last night,” he says as he lets go of Brett’s hand to drop to his knees, face to face with Brett’s thickness. “We’re downgrading but I’ll take what I can get from you...” He looks up to Brett with a smirk and waggles an eyebrow.   _“... daddy.”_

“You’re seriously going to be the fucking death of me one day,” Brett breathes out a laugh and shakes his head as he looks down to Aleks. He blinks a few times and rolls his lips back, a hot breath parting them open as he stares down at the blonde before him. “You uh… fuck, you really are.”

Brett’s dick is still as thick as the first time Aleks saw it this morning and it’s slightly intimidating, in the best possible way. The tip glistens with precome, like a beacon that showcases Brett’s desire, and Aleks can’t wait to wrap his lips around Brett, as much as he can, and savor the first real taste of him. Jesus, he thought he was aching before but it aches so much more now, even with the knowledge that Brett’s going to be in his mouth soon.

“Am I the death of you…” Aleks leans forward and without breaking eye contact, presses a big, wet kiss to the tip of Brett’s cock. “... now?”

Brett closes his eyes with a loud moan and his face scrunches in embarrassment at the volume. “Even more than before,” he replies with a slightly strained voice.

“I like when you moan for me,” Aleks tells him. “Keep doing it. When you’re loud, it just means I’m doing a good job.”

“That’s reassuring,” Brett sighs as he opens his eyes to look down at Aleks. “Not being sarcastic either.”

“Here’s a little secret, Brett,” Aleks says as he places his hands on the floor in between his knees. “Everything you do is hot to me. Do whatever you want.” With that said, he leans forward again to suckle briefly on the head of Brett’s cock and his eyes lid shut with a moan at the taste.

The best way to describe Brett’s taste is manly. _So manly._

There’s such a strong, exhilarating musk exuding from down below and Aleks has never caught the scent on him before with the cologne he wears. This is his natural smell and already, Aleks knows he’s addicted. It overcasts his body in a haze, so much stronger than alcohol and cigarettes ever could, and it’s still not enough.

“Fuck, Brett, you taste so good,” Aleks breathes before he tilts his head, pressing his tongue flat against the shaft and slowly swirling it downwards.

Brett rolls his lips back with a hum and holds onto the edges of the ottoman, curling his fingers against the wood frame. “Your tongue is so good,” Brett says. “Remember you telling me how you make up for not being able to deepthroat with that.”

Aleks mouths at the sides of his shaft, giving a little suck every time he does and the wet sounds are loud in the otherwise silent hotel room. “I wish I could deepthroat you,” Aleks says quietly. “Just wanna do whatever I can to make you feel good.”

“What you’re doing is fine,” Brett assures as he uncurls one of his hands from the ottoman. “You just keep using your tongue and suck what you can. I’m easy to please.”

Aleks looks up at Brett through his lashes as he mouths down to his balls. “You promise, daddy?” he asks before he takes one of them into his mouth, rolling them around with his tongue and breathing in his scent once more with a quiet moan.

“Fuck, Aleks,” Brett breathes out a chuckle and closes his eyes as he moves his hand up into Aleks’ hair. “Yes, I promise.”

_He definitely likes being called that._

Aleks gives equal attention to the other set and then he licks a stripe up the middle, up his length, and presses Brett’s cock all the way to his body with his tongue before he wraps his lips around the side of his shaft. He suckles all the way down and back up, down and up, down and up, and then he very slowly, almost tantalizingly curls his tongue around the shaft as he brings it all the way back to the head, suckling at the tip once more before he pulls off with a lovely sounding “pop”.

“Please,” Brett moans as he drops his head forward to stare down at Aleks. “Aleks, please.”

“Please _what,_ daddy?” Aleks asks with a grin as he kisses the tip. “Tell me what you want.”

“Aleeeeeks,” Brett whines. “Come on, you’re the one that wanted to do this in the first place.”

Aleks chuckles and shakes his head as he licks right up the middle of his shaft. “Nooo, tell me,” he says, “what do you - _Brett,”_ he moans when Brett curls his fingers tightly in his hair to force him forward against his cock. “Brett-”

“Suck daddy’s cock,” Brett demands. “Stop teasing.”

Hearing Brett call himself daddy turns Aleks on for different reasons than usual. It means he’s finally embracing the name, no longer refusing to acknowledge it. Even if it’s only for this morning (and Aleks hopes it won’t be), Brett has completely gave into Aleks and all of the sexual tension that’s been stewing between them for months. It washes away any sense of doubt Aleks had that maybe it was just a drunk night.

And it confirms that Brett is just as crazy for Aleks as Aleks is for him.

 

“I’m sorry, daddy,” Aleks apologizes and looks up to Brett, shivers underneath his hard gaze. “I promise, I’ll suck you off now.”

“Good boy.” Brett pats through Aleks’ hair, stands up, and grabs ahold of his cock with the other hand to guide it to Aleks’ lips. “Open up for me, real wide.”

Aleks takes a deep breath and swallows before he opens his mouth like Brett wants, staring up at him with blown open eyes, clouded in lust. Shuddering breaths escape his open mouth and his whole body tremors ever so slightly for what’s to come and as soon as Brett slides the first few inches of himself into Aleks’ mouth, Aleks closes his lips around him with the most relieved moan that’s ever risen from his throat.

“Now show me what you can do,” Brett rasps.

Aleks brings up a hand to wrap his fingers around what he can’t reach as he steadily bobs his head back and forth on Brett’s length, moaning as more of that musky taste seeps into his tastebuds, shocks his senses and aides in thickening the cloud of lust that looms over him. His eyes flutter shut again when Brett threads his fingers back through his hair and shockwaves flow through his body when Brett’s other hand rests on his shoulder, nails gently grazing his skin.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Brett moans and lulls his head back with closed eyes to bask in the first waves of pleasure. “Fuck, you’re so hot, Aleks, you have no idea.”

He’s so eager to hear more of Brett’s praise, so _devoted_  to being his good boy because if he disappoints Brett, Brett’s never going to want to do anything with him after this. There’s a lot at stake if Aleks wants to progress this into more than some one night (er, morning) stand and Brett’s on cloud nine right now but there’s still a chance he can fall from the skies and fall flat on his face so Aleks needs to get serious, he _needs_  to show Brett everything he’s capable of.

Aleks twists his wrist in times with the bobs of his head and every time he pulls back to the tip of Brett’s cock, he’s sure to lave his head with all the attention he can - dipping his tongue into the slit to gather up all that luscious precome, swirling it around the underside to light up all of the nerves, and sucking hard before he goes back down and after doing that quite a number of times, he quickens the speed of his mouth, much to Brett’s satisfaction.

“Keep that up, Aleks, yeah.” Brett’s head moves back forward to watch and he groans at the hot sight of his cock widening Aleks’ mouth, how the spit trails down the corners. “Good boy, you’re sucking daddy off so good,” he praises, digging his nails harder into Aleks’ shoulder.

Being put in a submissive position for Geoff was fine, it wasn’t Aleks _favorite_  thing to do, but he didn’t mind it. It was fun, he can admit that.

Right now, with Brett? He doesn’t want to imagine being in any other position. It’s his new life goal to please Brett and be everything that Brett has ever fantasized about with another man, shit, he _is_  everything Brett has fantasized about because he’s the one that made Brett realize he’s into this.

Aleks has always found Brett attractive and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out but… holy shit, he didn’t realize how much he _needed_  Brett until now.

Aleks pulls off of Brett’s cock and takes a deep breath before he goes back down to take as much as he can but unfortunately, he can’t get all of Brett down his throat - the majority is in, yes, but not the whole thing and fuck, he really hates not having a gag reflex in this moment. He hates it so much and he wants to whine and complain but he needs to focus on Brett’s pleasure.

He takes another deep breath and goes back down, staying for as long as he can until he starts gagging and then he pulls back up to resume the quick speed as before, with an inch or two added on. This continues for a few minutes and the sound of Aleks’ mouth sucking away, combined with Brett’s low moans and groans, only adds to the ardorous atmosphere of the sex charged hotel room.

Aleks is losing himself in Brett’s sexy sounds, his stirring scent, fuck, he could suck Brett off for hours upon _hours_  on end and not even realize it but then Brett pulls Aleks off his cock by his hair and Aleks _whines,_ tries to go back in for another taste but Brett keeps him locked in place.

 

“I’m close,” Brett tells him. “I know you probably don’t wanna swallow.”

“I’ll do it for you,” Aleks promises. “I just want you, Brett, like, all of you, please.”

“You sure?”

 _“Yes,”_ Aleks whines and brings his hands up to hold onto Brett’s sides. “Please, daddy, give it to me, please!” He closes his eyes and pushes his tongue past his parted lips to eagerly wait for the hot drops.

“When you beg so good like that, how can I say no?” Brett rasps and lets go of Aleks’ shoulder so he can jerk himself quickly. “Lean your head back. You did such a good job, you know that?”

“Yeah?” Aleks asks.

“Oh yeah,” Brett nods. “Better than anybody else.”

“Thank you, daddy,” Aleks moans. “Thank you _so much.”_

Brett has no idea how much that means to Aleks, who has been fretting over making this blowjob as good as he can. Knowing that he was so much better than anybody else too, it’s a significant stroke to his ego, a big boost to his confidence, and it makes him wanna show Brett how good he is with other things too, like sex - you know, what they were gonna do last night until Brett fell asleep but it’s fine, it really is.

Aleks showed Brett everything he was missing out on in the past few months this morning. And Brett’s going to keep coming back for more.

Brett bites down on his lips in concentration, his chest rising quickly, up and down, and tensing up in order to bring his pleasure to him quicker and after a minute or two of jerking himself off, the pleasure that’s built up in his stomach suddenly webs out through his veins and ventricles to light up his entire body.

“Fuuuck, _Aleks,”_ Brett groans. “Get ready, just like that, _fuck.”_ He slams his eyes shut but lids them open just enough to watch as his come shoots into Aleks’ throat, drips onto his waiting tongue and a moan bubbles from Aleks’ throat as the load settles onto his tongue.

He doesn’t swallow a lot and the last time he did was so long ago but it isn’t as bad as he remembers it being. Aleks isn’t aching to break away to search for water to swallow it down - he wants to stay here on his knees and swallow every drop, savor the taste and wait for Brett to tell him how good he did before he kisses him, _fuck, I want him to kiss me again._

 

Brett’s hand slows down as his orgasm settles into nothingness but he keeps going until he milks every last drop. When he finishes, he lets go and grabs Aleks’ chin to force his mouth close and that’s when Aleks opens his eyes to look up into his. “Swallow it,” Brett tells him. “Do it for daddy.”

Aleks swallows it down and moans at the salty taste that immediately comes over him. Admittedly, it’s not as good as he was hoping but it’s _Brett’s_  taste and that’s more than worth it for him. He kisses the tip of Brett’s thumb when it moves to rest on his bottom lip, making sure to maintain eye contact with Brett in the hopes that Brett will praise him again or do more with him, _anything,_ he just doesn’t wanna be done with Brett yet.

“How does it taste?” Brett asks, raising an eyebrow. “Be honest.”

Aleks purses his lips together and looks off to the side with a shrug. “5 out of 10 but I’d do it again for you.” He looks back to Brett with a grin and his grin widens when Brett chuckles.

“Fair.” Brett nods. “Never uh, really liked the taste of come too much myself.”

“Did I do good?” Aleks asks with a bit too much hopefulness and if he wasn’t so hard, he’d blush at it.

“I said you were better than everybody else, didn’t I?” Brett’s hands move to settle on Aleks’ shoulders, rubbing gentle circles into the skin with his thumbs. “Aleks, that was fucking hot. You might not have a gag reflex but you still know how to suck a good dick.”

“Your dick is more than good,” Aleks says as he holds onto Brett’s hands, standing back up on his feet.

Brett snorts and shrugs. “It’s alright. Gets the job done.”

He’s so modest. Aleks would try to correct him again if he didn’t think Brett would try to shrug it off but he’s already conquered one mountain today.

Besides, he shouldn’t go conquering any other mountains with a full bladder. He probably should’ve done that before he sucked off Brett, _oh my god, I sucked off Brett,_ but when there’s a hot guy with a thick dick that’s begging for a wet, hot mouth to submerge inside, how can you ignore it? It’s just logic and common sense.

 

“Fuck, I gotta pee, dude.” Aleks lets go of Brett’s hands to walk to the bathroom. “You know how hard it is to pee when you got a boner?”

“Hold on a sec.”

“What’s up?” Aleks turns around and suddenly finds their naked bodies pressed together, and Brett’s arms wrap around his waist before he rests his lips upon his.

It’s not a big kiss, not a passionate one, and Brett’s lips sort of just linger on his but Aleks is totally into that too. He closes his eyes and sighs softly as holds onto Brett’s shoulders, wanting to bask in the sweet kiss for as long as he can before they pull away. If there’s one thing all of their kisses share, it’s all the passion - it could be a peck on the lips or a rousing battle of the mouths but the passion is the same all across the board and it’s evident, even right now, that Brett still wants more.

Brett pulls away and wets his lips, rolling them back before he looks into Aleks’ eyes. “Just felt like doing that real quick. We’ll leave after you get dressed, okay?” And after Aleks nods, Brett kisses him again and then lets go so he can go off to grab his clothes.

Aleks blinks a few times and a smile tickles the corner of his lips as he raises a hand over his heart. He raises his eyebrows when Brett calls his name again, waiting for him to continue.

“Thanks uh, for…” Brett glances to his flaccid dick. “You know. It was uh, a lot better than jerking off in the shower, that’s for sure,” he chuckles and turns around to start laying his clothes out on the bed.

Aleks bites down on his lips to keep his smile from breaking out, not wanting to look like an idiot, and all he does is nod at Brett while he slowly backs up into the bathroom. He turns around to press his back against the door, backing up until the door is fully closed, and then he allows the smile to completely grace his face.

Brett was the only one between them who had an orgasm but Aleks swears he’s riding off the afterglow of it. His head is soaring so high through the clouds and he never _ever_ wants to come back down, not unless Brett comes with him.

Except Brett’s not at that point.

 

Brett picks up his jersey from the bed and looks over the red and yellow fabrics before his gaze centers on the Cow Chop logo square in the middle. He swallows and looks over to the bathroom, where Aleks is, the man who just sucked him off literally minutes priors - quite well, too.

Just one blowjob, Aleks said. That’s all it is.

With a slight frown, Brett’s gaze drops to the ground.

_I don’t think one time is enough._


	22. Love Is A Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett’s situation is a walk in the park compared to Geoff and Gavin’s.
> 
> Here’s how!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading this chapter a bit earlier to make up for the somewhat late upload last week~
> 
> This is sort of a different chapter and it'll be kind of obvious why the first few lines in :') I hope you all enjoy!

****Geoff stares down at his phone screen in a quizzical fashion as he tries to make out what the photo is.

Actually, he knows exactly what it is - it’s a picture of Aleks and Brett from last night and Aleks is sat on Brett’s lap. But what _really_ grabs Geoff’s attention is the way they’re sucking at each other’s lips.

_It’s a good thing I don’t drink anymore._

He exits out of his messages with Michael, who had sent the photo to him along with the rather stimulating caption of _“YOU SEE THIS FUCKING SHIT, BRO???”,_ and opens Aleks’ contact to send him some friendly, almost professional messages.

 

 **[Himself]** Looking forward to being with you on the podcast today!

 **[Himself]** Also, I heard you and Brett had uh, a fun time last night at the Jackalope.

 

After sending his texts to Aleks, Geoff sets his phone down on the counter and looks over to the finished breakfast plates - chocolate chip pancakes with heavy icing, sausages, and bacon. The breakfast is more Gavin’s favorite but after the tumultuous time he had last night with Meg, Geoff wants to make this morning easier for him to get through.

 

Geoff blows out a breath and looks up from the plates to stare ahead at the window, blinds fully open to reveal the harsh sunlight outside - the norm for Austin, Texas. He stares off in contemplation over the raucous course of events that has happened to him these last few months.

They’re halfway into 2017 but it honestly feels like the end of the year with how busy it’s been for him, which is weird considering his sabbatical. Heh, he took the sabbatical because he didn’t wanna be busy. Look how well that’s turning out.

_“Aren’t you like… on sabbatical?” Aleks asks as he narrows his eyes. “Why are you working?”_

_Geoff blows out a breath and leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “I wanna help out Gav, he’s signing some YouTube contracts or something and then he’s meeting up with other people for Slo Mo Guy shit. Annnnnd considering it’s been awhile since we spent time together,” he shrugs, “I figured I’d use this trip to spend time with him too.”_

Aleks definitely got caught in the crossfire of his unexpected busy schedule. The sabbatical would’ve been the perfect time for him to visit Aleks and maintain a nice relationship with him… and it was nice! They only had like, what, one tense argument? Er, alright, they only dated less than a month so that isn’t too great but it still could’ve been a lot worse.

Perhaps if they lived closer, it would’ve worked. There’d be less uncertainty and the communication would’ve been better but ultimately, the breakup was good for the both of them. It was better to end it on amicable terms than to spread it out for months and months on end and resent each other - Aleks is unique with a bright future and Geoff genuinely enjoys being with him, whether they’re dating or just fucking around.

After yesterday morning, it’s obvious to Geoff that he’s moving his sights to Brett. Knowing they actually hooked up while they were in their open relationship (or so he thinks) cements Geoff’s knowledge that their breakup was the best thing for the both of them - they can’t be with each other if they like different people. Geoff’s not as irritated about it anymore, now that he’s slept on it.

He totally still wants to fuck Aleks though. That boy is a hot little distraction and Geoff might need that tonight.

 

Geoff hears Gavin’s footsteps and reaches for their plates, coming around the counter to set them on the dining table, where forks and knives already lay. After he sets the plates down, he looks up to see Gavin wearing only gray sweatpants and there’s a good amount of dark hair scattered over his sun-kissed chest, trails down the line of his toned torso, and disappears at the waistband of his pants.

It’s a very familiar sight, but a beautiful one nonetheless. Every time, no matter who Geoff is with, who Gavin is with, Geoff will look at him and wonder how he managed to find somebody like that.

If you ask Geoff what the best thing to come out of Rooster Teeth was? It was meeting Gavin Free.

“Hey.” Geoff nods his head. “Made your favorite.”

Gavin smiles and looks down to the plates, his smile widening and a gasp parting his lips open. “Are those chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Like I said - your favorite.”

“Top!” Gavin plops a seat at the table and grabs his fork and knife to immediately dig in.

Geoff huffs a fond breath through his nose and watches Gavin chomp away at his pancakes, eating them up like they’re the only thing left on this planet.

Gavin looks a lot happier than he did last night, rushing into Geoff’s home and stammering about how he had to break up with Meg and how terrible he felt for it but he just couldn’t continue trying to save something that’s been doomed from the start.

 

“So uh…” Geoff smacks his lips together as he sits across from Gavin with his plate. “We should talk about last night. It’s really over between you and Meg?”

Gavin presses his lips together as he pokes his fork against the porcelain plate, _ding, ding, ding._  “Afraid it is,” he answers. “It’s nothing she did. She’s great, she really is, but uh, she’s just not the right one for me.”

“And that’s cool.” Geoff nods. “It happens. Fucking look at me and Griffon, it took us like a decade to realize that,” he chuckles.

It’s nothing Griffon did either. She’s a wonderful woman and Geoff is thankful that he and her were able to stay friends despite the reason they broke up but she shares Geoff’s ideology with love - it’s worth the risk and nothing should stop you from going after the true love of your life.

_I really need to start taking my own advice._

“We’re both single now,” Gavin chuckles. “You and me… living the lives of bachelors, huh, Geoffrey?”

“Do bachelors live together?” Geoff asks as he crosses his arms over the table. “I assume you’re not gonna move back in with her.”

Gavin shakes his head and stabs the fork into a piece of sausage. “I’ll come by in a few days to get my things. And then it’ll be back to good ol’ times.” He looks up to Geoff as he bites off half the meat. “Geoff and Gavin. Gavin and Geoff… Plan G,” Gavin says, and he smiles when Geoff starts to laugh.

“Remember when we fucking made that?” Geoff asks with a chuckle. “Staying up all fucking night for that fucking prank, getting fucking drunk, then going to bed, waking up and getting more drunk afterwards.”

That was Labor Day of 2012

Geoff and Gavin had started on Achievement City that previous night but it wasn’t until the morning after, on Labor Day, that they finished it. Achievement City was their creation, one they worked so hard on together. The night before was spent drinking and sharing the dumbest jokes, the stupidest “Would You Rather” questions, and of course, they’d cuddle. Griffon wasn’t there, so might as well take advantage.

 

“Didn’t stop us from doing a certain something afterwards.” Gavin levels a knowing look at Geoff before he finishes off the sausage and then he sets his fork down on the plate. “Now that we’re both single, there’s nothing stopping us.”

Geoff blinks a few times and rolls his lips back between his teeth, nibbling gently at the bottom.

He knows exactly what Gavin is talking about. There’s no misconstruing it. God knows how many times they’ve done that throughout the years… it’s part of the reason their friendship is this complicated thing that it is now, why it’s broken up his marriage.

It’s also why he can’t be too mad at Aleks for fucking somebody else without telling him. Griffon had _no idea_  about him and Gavin until Geoff told her.

_“How long has it been going on?” Griffon asks softly, almost in an understanding way._

_Geoff’s tongue pokes around the inside of his cheek as he stares down at the floor, too guilty to look her in the eyes. “The first time? About a few months since he first moved in,” he reveals. “As for it turning into this like… thing? I dunno, few years after. It…” he chuckles humorlessly and bites down on his lips, shaking his head. “It happened so fast.”_

_Griffon presses her lips together and sighs through her nose. “Well… I did say it was an open relationship-”_

_“But you told me not to go after him,” Geoff recounts._

_“Honestly?” Griffon chuckles, flips her hair back and looks to her soon to be ex husband. “No amount of me telling you no would’ve stopped it. As soon as he moved in, you would just…” she shakes her head. “I just knew. I think I was trying to hold off the inevitable.”_

_“Just knew what?”_

_“That you were in love with him,” Griffon answers. “Obviously it wasn’t love at first but you liked him.”_

_“It doesn’t matter anymore though,” Geoff sighs. “He’s with Meg… and they have this on and off thing-”_

_“Don’t be afraid to take risks with love,” Griffon tells him. “Don’t let this stop you from going after him. I mean, if you love him so much that it affected our relationship, you need to at least pursue him.”_

Except it has stopped him.

Believe Geoff when he says he tried to pursue Gavin before because he did, he laid it all out on the table, but Gavin made it very clear what it was between them.

 

“Gavin,” Geoff starts in a quiet, but firm tone. “Why did you break up with Meg?”

“I told you,” Gavin says softly. “She’s not the one for me.”

Geoff nods and looks down to his plate. Sounds simple enough. Good on him for realizing-

“She’s not the one for me because you are,” Gavin tells him. “You’ve _always_  been that one for me.”

_“You’ve **always** been that one for me,” Geoff says almost pleadingly as he holds Gavin closer to his body on his lap. _

_Gavin’s breath hitches and he tilts his head, brings his hand up to thread through the back of Geoff’s hair. “Geoff-”_

_“We can be something more, Gavin,” Geoff chuckles and bites at his lips, breathes in deeply through his nose. “I’ll give you everything. I would give up everything for you.”_

_“Geoff, you knew what this was when we started.” Gavin frowns and brings up his other hand to cup Geoff’s cheek, rubs it back and forth against the skin. “I’m… I’m sorry, but I can’t… and her-”_

_“I’d do it in a second for you, Gavin,” Geoff says on the edge of a whisper._

_“I’m not gonna be the one responsible for that.” Gavin shakes his head. “I can’t, Geoff.”_

And that’s fine. It wasn’t a relationship but Geoff was fine with it - he just wanted to be with him, _touch him,_ and he got that, along with a whole lot more.

Griffon would go off to her chainsaw carving competitions, for weeks, and he and Gavin would play make believe. They’d wake up in each other’s arms, kiss each other good morning, and they’d eat and share breakfast, pretend that this fantasy won’t have to be shelved in the attic once Griffon comes back.

For 5 years, 5 long years, they’d do this with each other, even when Gavin was with Meg because they’re not always together. It's always on and off with them and in those off periods, Gavin would come back home to Geoff and they’d continue where they left off.

They could've been something more, but Geoff was fine with all of it - just as long as their game of make believe could continue.

So Geoff was pretty  sure that he wouldn’t have to deal with this again.

It would forever be this complicated relationship between them that nobody else would understand and now that an opportunity presents itself to move this into something _normal_ after Geoff kept telling himself it couldn’t progress further, and for Gavin to tell Geoff so quickly that he broke up with Meg for him? When he had previously told Geoff that he himself didn’t want to be responsible for breaking up a relationship?

_Who the fuck does he think he is?_

 

Gavin leans over the table and reaches over to grab Geoff’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “Geoff, I’m in love with you,” he confesses. “And you are too, I know-”

“You told me that this was just sex,” Geoff says as he looks down to their hands.

“Years ago,” Gavin clarifies. He swallows and wets his lips before he looks down to their joined hands. “A lot can change in those years but I know you never stopped loving me, the way I love you now. I don’t… god, I think I’ve _always_  been in love with you but it wasn’t until, I dunno, a few months ago I really realized it.”

“I started dating Aleks a few months ago,” Geoff recounts.

“Yeah…” Gavin darts his tongue out to swipe along his lips. “Seeing you two together sort of um, opened my eyes? Started to really uh, think back on how I felt. Why I’d feel and think certain things-“

“And just like that, you realized you were in love with me?” Geoff chuckles humorlessly and snags his hand away. “After all those years, what we've been through, and that’s what made you realize?”

After every single thing he and Gavin have done together? The late nights in each other’s arms, locked in deep conversation? The fantasies they’d share about taking romantic getaways, leaving it all behind? That wasn't enough?

But a relationship with Aleks, not even a month long, was all it took for Gavin to realize that he has feelings after all this time... how can he have the _audacity_  to think Geoff will so easily take him into his arms?

 

Gavin slumps in his seat and frowns as he watches Geoff stand up from the table. “I know I should’ve realized it sooner but Geoff, we’re both in love with each other, we should just-”

“We should just what, Gavin?” Geoff spreads his arms out as he turns to face his best friend, the love of his life. “Get together, just like that?”

Looking back and forth, Gavin scoffs and stands up from the table himself. “Uh, yes? Why should we wait anymore for it-”

“Why should I have had to wait _five fucking years_ for you to finally realize that this fucking complicated ass thing was supposed to be something more so fucking long ago?”

“Are you _mad?”_ Gavin asks, squinting his eyes. “You’re seriously not going to let this happen because you’re bitter-” 

“Yeah, I’m bitter!” Geoff exclaims. “We could’ve done this so much sooner-”

“So it’s better late than never!” Gavin exclaims much louder as he walks around the table to meet Geoff. “Don’t be such a bellend!”

“But you can’t just do that, Gavin!” Geoff’s voice cracks as he steps away, running a hand back through his hair.

Gavin can’t just waltz back into his romantic life like that and act like everything is fine, like they’re a normal couple. He can’t confess his feelings for Geoff and expect Geoff to suddenly take him into his arms, call him his boyfriend, and enjoy the happy life that they’ve always wanted with each other.

It took a long time for Geoff to finally close himself off to that possibility and when he did, that’s when he gave things with Aleks a shot. So when Gavin just fucking… does _that,_ and then Geoff has to open himself back up to feelings he tried to bury?

It’s too hard. It **hurts.**

 

“Do _what?”_ Gavin whines. “What are you on about?”

“You can’t just…” Geoff rolls his lips back and slams his hands down against his sides. He slowly breathes in then exhales a shuddering breath, closing his eyes tightly. When he opens them again, a layer of wetness covers them and a drop spills down his cheek.

Gavin watches the tear catch onto Geoff’s lip and he holds his arms to himself, the frown on his face widening. He wants to say something, wants to reassure Geoff, but he doesn’t wanna break him from his train of thought, so he just stares, just waits for Geoff to tell him what he did wrong.

He never does.

 

Geoff disappears up the stairs and when he comes back down, fully dressed, Gavin is nowhere to be found.

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile in downtown Austin, there’s a pair of men with some drama of their own - only it’s much more manageable.

“So did you guys uh, have fun last night?” Trevor asks, raising his eyebrows as he raises the lemonade to his lips. “Get your drink on?”

“More or less,” Aleks answers before he takes a bite of his waffle, the whipped cream smearing against his lips. He rolls his lips back to get rid of it and then he swipes his thumb along his cheek to gather the rest so he can suck it off the tip.

Brett was about to take a bite of his own waffle but his fork hovers in the air with his hand as his gaze dips down to Aleks’ lips. Aleks insists on gathering more whipped cream to suck off his thumb and every time he does so, Brett has to take a deep breath and think about terrible things, like Steven Suptic’s feet.

Unfortunately, it does nothing to hinder the situation in his jeans.

Brett shoves the bite of waffle into his mouth and quickly chases it down with water… quite a long sip too… he’s fucking chugging it annnnnd it’s gone!

Aleks, James, and Trevor fixate their wide eyes on Brett as he sets the glass on the table and Brett’s eyes dart all around his friends. James and Trevor seem genuinely concerned but the faintest of smirks hangs on the corner of Aleks’ lips, because of course he would fucking know why Brett is so quiet this morning.

 

Brett made the biggest mistake in the world when he let Aleks suck him off. It’s not because he wants to preserve his professionalism anymore, not a great deal at least. Aleks’ mouth is too great for Brett to just ignore but therein lies the problem - how is he supposed to move on? Just one blowjob is all Brett gets?

In Aleks’ defense, Brett made it clear it was only this one time.

Brett also has the liberty of going back to Aleks to ask for more - maybe he can’t date Aleks but fucking Aleks? Listening to Aleks call him _daddy_ in that sexy, naturally high pitched voice of his? Holy fuuuck, that is so worth every risk in the world but what if that morning was all Aleks wanted? He’s got his literal taste of Brett so why does he need to stick around?

 

Brett furrows his eyebrows together as he looks down to the table, leaning over it and stabbing his fork into a slice of apple. “What?” he asks as he shoves the apple into his mouth. “Why is everybody looking at me?”

“You okay?” Trevor asks. “What did you do last night, dude?”

_Not Aleks._

“Got lit, dude,” Brett answers.

“You got more than lit, I’d say,” James says with a grin as he looks aside to Brett.

“We all got more than lit, man,” Aleks jumps in. “It was Joe’s birthday, we couldn’t just have a boring fucking night.”

Brett points his fork at Aleks. “What he said.”

“You two were something else though,” James argues. “There’s lit and then there’s… what you guys did.”

“Wait, what did you and Brett do?” Trevor asks as he turns in his seat to face Aleks, then he glances to Brett. “How bad was it?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aleks answers. “What happens on 6th Street, stays on 6th Street.” He looks up to Brett and raises a knowing eyebrow, his grin disappearing behind his glass of orange juice. “Right?”

Brett watches Aleks drink his orange juice with a sigh and he quickly shoves another slice of apple into his mouth to chew away the frustration.

_I wish what we did didn’t have to stay in Texas..._

* * *

 

 

The rest of the morning proceeds fairly normal. Well, it’s normal for everybody else. Aleks has been working double hard this morning to taunt Brett at every turn and it hasn’t stopped since they finally arrived at the Austin Convention Center.

Everybody is having a great time, whether it’s taking pictures with their favorite Rooster Teeth employees or meeting up with close online friends. The tension is left behind at home and at the RTX convention, they can let go and immerse themselves in this grandiose distraction.

The Cow Chop panel is happening today but no questions will be asked so Aleks is confident about how the day will go. Film the podcast with Geoff and hope he’s over the whole _“I slept with Brett except I really didn’t but we actually did something together this morning so there’s a little bit of truth to it”_ thing, do the panel, then go through the mysterious escape room. As for what happens after the convention, Aleks is figuring that out as he goes.

 

“So uh, I guess we can end the podcast right there,” Brett says. “Good way to uh...” he looks up to Aleks and the lollipop that he’s sucking on. “Um… where the fuck did that come from?” Brett chuckles and scratches the nape of his neck.

Aleks suckles on the lollipop and then pulls off with a pop before he gives it a twirl. “Had it with me in my bag. Needed a little something for uh, my mouth to fixate on, you know what I’m sayin?”

Brett takes his hand off his neck and runs it down his face with a sigh. “Aleks, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you, bud.”

“There’s a lotta things you could do.” Aleks shrugs and puts the lollipop back into his mouth with a wink, crossing his leg over the other.

Teasing Brett might just be Aleks’ new favorite thing to do! Granted, it was always his favorite activity but it’s different now that he knows for a fact that Brett feels the same way. He only hopes that Brett actually wants to do it again with him and that it really wasn’t just a one time pleasure he decided to indulge in.

 

Geoff and James blink over to each other and Geoff furrows his eyebrows, wagging his finger back and forth between the two of them and James stands up to mumble something in Geoff’s ear before he sits back down.

Geoff clears his throat and looks to Brett. “So before we officially end this podcast and go our own separate ways, uh, what’s this I heard about Brett like, signing Aleks’ ass?” he asks with a chuckle. “Did that seriously happen last night? How fucking fucked up did all of you get? Like, I heard some rumblings but I need a bit more insight.”

“Oh yeah, it was uh...” Brett snorts and nods. “Yeah, it got crazy but I definitely did sign his little tush.”

“You gonna show it?” Geoff asks with a small smile. “Give your podcast watchers a little treat, come on.”

Aleks shrugs and sucks hard on the lollipop to keep it in his mouth before he turns around on the couch. He undoes the front of his jeans and then pushes the back of them down just enough to show off Brett’s signature.

“Whoomp, there it is!” Brett exclaims as he sits up to point to Aleks’ ass. “Aleks officially signed himself over to me last night,” he declares while Aleks pulls his jeans back up, refastening them before he sits back down on the couch.

“That’s the impression I got from everything else I heard about the night,” Geoff recounts with a smirk. “Can’t wait to see how fucked up you guys get at RTX next year.”

“Yeah, after people watch this, they can like, put it on their Google Calendar in July of next year so they can rewatch it and see how far we’ve come,” Brett chuckles.

“Or how far we’ve fallen,” James adds before he takes a sip of his water.

“Maybe one of us won’t be here.” Aleks holds out his hands and raises an eyebrow in wonderment. “We won’t know until next year - but uh, hey, for real, where’s that VIP bar in here? Are you guys doing that?”

It’s probably not smart to drink when he got fucking hammered last night but Aleks woke up totally fine this morning _and_  he got to suck Brett’s dick so he’s not too worried.

_I can't believe I sucked Brett's dick, dude, holy shit._

 

Brett stands up and smooths down his pants. “I could-”

“Actually,” Geoff starts as he scoots closer to Aleks. “I could show you where it is.”

Brett bites back his tongue and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Alright, you guys can investigate that then,” he says as he averts his attention to the camera lens. “So uh, I guess watch us on First…”

While Brett promotes Rooster Teeth First and their Class of 198x series, Geoff and Aleks make their way to the special VIP bar.

Geoff, of course, was chill the entire podcast - you never would’ve known he was irritated about Aleks and Brett yesterday! His entire mood is jovial, it’s infectious, and it sprinkles some more cheer onto Aleks’ already good mood. Hmm, has he ever been angry before in his life? Besides that one time he got annoyed with Aleks, Aleks can't really think of a time. He's always so... so _cheerful,_ like there's absolutely nothing troubling going on at all.

 

“Sooo here we are!” Geoff proclaims as he rests a hand on the bar top. “Wasn’t too far, just deliberately out of sight.”

“Gonna buy me a drink?” Aleks teases with a grin as he crosses his arms over the bar.

“If you wanna hookup tonight then yeah, I’d be glad to.”

Wow. He’s really over him and Brett, huh? Aleks for sure thought that little blurb would’ve ruined their chances of ever hooking up at RTX but the chances have stayed the same. The only thing that’s changed is how willing Aleks is to take that chance and it’s not because Geoff is a bad lay, far from it, but… Brett’s right there.

Whether he actually decides to become available for Aleks is anybody’s guess but Aleks isn’t sure he wants to fuck around with anybody else, not when Brett showed that he could be the perfect hookup partner.

If only he would just accept that he needs Aleks beyond everything they’ve done this morning.

 

“You really don’t mind the fact that uh... me and Brett hooked up like a month ago?” Aleks asks.

He should probably tell Geoff that it was actually Bruce at some point, but it doesn’t seem like a good time right now. Aleks _is_  still trying to get laid, even if it’s not with Brett.

“Dude, we’re not even together anymore,” Geoff scoffs. “Like, I was pretty annoyed at first but I got over it pretty quick. What’s in the past is in the past.”

Geoff is so fucking nice and it’s one of the most admirable qualities about him. Whether it’s rain or shine, he finds the positive in everything. That man has no bitter bone in his body and Aleks is a bit envious, though he does sort of wonder if he’s bottling up anything. They never really had any deep discussions during their relationship.

Come to think of it, it was rather superficial. There was an emotional aspect to it but the both of them never delved too deep - only scraped the surface of it.

“Then uh, yeah, I don’t see why we can’t hook up.” Aleks shrugs and stands up straight. “Come by my hotel room tonight. Will you be free?”

“This podcast was pretty much all I had planned,” Geoff replies. “I was supposed to uh… um….” He looks down to the bar and purses his lips. “I was supposed to hang out with… someone today, but plans just uh, kinda changed last minute,” he says quietly.

“Well I’m not really doing anything after the convention so we could hang out,” Aleks offers. “Might be better to catch up when there’s not so many people around.”

“Wanna get dinner?”

“You pay my drinks, I’ll pay for dinner?”

“Sounds like a deal to me.” Geoff smiles. “Just so you know though, this is an open bar - drinks are free.”

“I’ll still pay for dinner.”

It’s the least Aleks can do for irritating Geoff yesterday morning - as well as initiating the break up with him. He still feels bad about that.

“Well I’m not gonna complain,” Geoff chuckles and pats Aleks’ shoulder. “Take it easy and I’ll see you later.”

Aleks watches Geoff walk away for a brief moment with a grin before he hops up on the stool. He might not be fucking Brett but Geoff is cool too.

Besides, it’s not like he and Brett are going to fuck each other anytime soon. If Brett decides he wants more, he’s probably gonna stick to blowjobs.

 

He turns his head around to order his favorite drink, a rum and a coke. Aleks takes a sip and turns his head around to overlook the people and that’s when he sees Brett coming his way, just by himself.

“Where’s James?” Aleks asks. “And Trevor? Did you put them on the buddy system?”

“Wanted to find out where you were,” Brett answers. “I see you two found the bar okay. You guys talk about anything interesting?”

“Yeah, uh, here’s the deal…”

“What’s happening now?” Brett asks with a chuckle as he leans back against the bar, arms on the counter as he looks over to Aleks.

“Me and Geoff are gonna hang out after the convention. Get dinner, then uh… get each other.”

Brett pokes his tongue around the inside of his cheek and his gaze drops to the floor. “You and Geoff are hooking up?”

“Why not?” Aleks shrugs. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Breathing out deeply through his nose, Brett thins his lips before he purses them over to one side.

Aleks looks over to Brett as he drinks but he stops when he fully notices Brett’s expressions, letting off the rim of the cup and furrowing his eyebrows together. “I mean, if you don’t-”

“You sure he’s not gonna mind the taste of my dick on your lips when you guys kiss?” Brett asks as he looks up to Aleks with a small smile and then he chuckles. “It’s cool, just uh, promise me he’ll wear protection and that you guys don’t fuck on my bed.” He holds up his hand and glances to it as he nudges his arm against Aleks’. “Shake on it?”

Aleks really thought he pissed off Brett right there! He doesn’t know why Brett would be pissed off but he sure looked it, or at least irritated, but of course, Aleks was thinking too hard about it. If Brett can joke about Aleks sucking his dick then he probably doesn’t give a shit about Aleks hooking up with other people.

… this really was just a one time thing, wasn’t it?

 

Aleks’ shoulders slump as he sets his cup down on the bartop and he stares into Brett’s open hand, the hand that had grabbed his hair earlier that day and forced him into his cock, the hand that pulled his head back so Aleks could take every single drop of his load.

Aleks is never going to feel that again. He’ll never hear Brett call him a good boy or tell him he’s doing a good job, he won’t moan or groan because of him, nor will Aleks ever get a taste of his manly musk.

Their first time is the last.

Aleks forces a smile, a tight one, and he reaches his hand up to intertwine the fingers with Brett for a good handshake - because as far as Brett knows, it’s fine.

 

“Yeah,” Aleks says softly. “I promise.”

* * *

 

 

Dinner with Aleks was fun. Geoff wasn’t expecting it to be anything else.

They grabbed dinner at a homely burger bar about a few blocks from the convention center. The place was crowded but it just meant that everybody could focus their energy on their friends so nobody bothered them the whole night. The conversation was casual and lighthearted and it’s just what Geoff needed after the fucking stressful morning he had.

Gavin sent him a few texts throughout the day. Geoff even saw him a few times at the convention but he’d ignore the texts and dip into the back of a booth every time he caught a glimpse of him. He’s still not sure how to face him and he sure as _hell_  isn’t sure about how to approach the topic again so he’ll just… avoid Gavin until he figures out these things.

It’s why Aleks is the perfect distraction from it all. He hasn’t asked Geoff about Gavin once and he’s kept it relatively simple. They could absolutely discuss something of emotional substance and Geoff knows that Aleks is capable of that but for now, he wants some mindless fun.

That’s another reason why they didn’t work out, though Geoff thinks that’s primarily his fault.

After dinner, they walked to that neat arcade bar on 6th Street and it’s around 9 PM when they head back to Aleks’ hotel room, where the mindless fun really begins.

 

Geoff’s hands travel up underneath Aleks’ shirt and he moans when Aleks grinds his ass down on his lap. Geoff’s nails drag up along the skin of Aleks’ back before they drag back down to grab handfuls of his ass - which has gotten considerably thicker since the last time they saw each other and Geoff is _all about it._

“Gonna fuck me hard?” Aleks mumbles against his lips. “You gonna be a good daddy for me?”

“Have I ever disappointed you?” Geoff asks quietly as he pulls away to look into Aleks’ eyes, his blue ones darkening with desideratum.

Aleks huffs a chuckle through his nose and nods. “Good point,” he breathes before he dives back in for another hard kiss. As he threads a hand back into Geoff’s hair, he pushes at his shoulder with the other for Geoff to lie back on the bed.

Geoff had missed Aleks’ dominant nature. Aleks does a tremendous job at just giving up control but Geoff really thinks he shines when he takes control and goes after what he wants. Geoff is happy to lie there and give it to him because he doesn’t wanna call the shots, doesn’t want to think about the best way to assert himself - he wants to lie back, watch Aleks fuck himself, and forget.

Though nothing will stop him from eating Aleks’ ass tonight. Aleks makes the _prettiest_  noises when Geoff does it.

 

Geoff snakes his hands in between them to fiddle with Aleks’ belt, managing to undo it, and he throws it off to the side. Aleks chuckles lowly against his lips and grinds his body down so Geoff has to pull his hands away and when he does, Aleks grabs them to pin them by the sides of his head.

“You’re doing what I say tonight,” Aleks whispers. “Got it?”

“Anything you want,” Geoff concedes. “Just say it.”

“There is _one thing_ I’ve been wanting in particular.” Aleks rises up from his body and then climbs off his lap so he can finish off what Geoff was trying to do and Geoff raises his head up to watch as Aleks pulls down his pants and boxers.

“Want me to suck you off?” Geoff asks with a grin as he looks up to Aleks. “You know I can deepthroat like a pro.”

“I remember,” Aleks chuckles and saunters forward to Geoff so he can reach his hands over to grab his shoulders, helping him to sit up straight. “And I wish I had your dick sucking skills.”

“Your mouth gets the job done perfectly.” Geoff winks and grabs Aleks’ hips, thumbs grazing back and forth along his hip bones.

“And so does yours,” Aleks points out. “So while you’re not sucking me off, you’re gonna make use of it.”

“Now I’m intrigued!” Geoff beams. “What am I doing to your sexy body tonight?”

“You’re gonna eat me out,” Aleks answers while turning around. He brings both of his hands back to rest on his ass and he grabs the cheeks to spread them apart, showing off his hole, and he looks back to Geoff with a wink before he lets them go with a quiet _smack._ “Figured you won’t mind.”

Adjusting the tent in his pants, Geoff wets his lips and stares ahead at Aleks’ thick ass. It’s not an effect of the lighting - it’s definitely thicker than the last time. It’s got Brett’s signature too, which also wasn’t present last time, and Geoff can’t help but chuckle and shake his head when he sees it.

“God, I can’t believe he signed your ass,” he chuckles and lightly smacks the skin above it. “How did that happen?”

“This one girl came over and she told Brett to sign her tits-”

“More power to her.”

“I guess. I uh, I kinda mocked her for it and I said that Brett should sign my ass next and Brett took it seriously,” Aleks chuckles and scratches the nape of his neck. “That’s another thing you and I have in common now - Brett made his mark on me with this, Gavin made his mark on you with that tattoo. I mean, yours is permanent but I think that’s cool, how he’s like always gonna be a part of you.”

“... yeah,” Geoff concurs quietly as he rubs at his bicep. “He uh… he always will be. He’s a special guy, that Gavin.” He chuckles and looks down to where his jeans cover up the life sized tattoo of Gavin’s nose.

_Gavin looks down to Geoff’s naked leg from where his head rests on his shoulder and he laughs at the tattoo he sees. “Christ, I forgot my bloody nose was down there.”_

_Geoff chuckles and rests his head back on the pillow, tightening the hold he has around Gavin’s shoulder. “Worst fucking day of my life.”_

_“You mean the best?” Gavin asks as he looks up to Geoff with a small smile. “Anytime you miss me, you just gotta look down and uh, ‘oh, hey, there’s my boy, Gavvy.’”_

_“If you said ‘oh, shit, there’s my fucking idiot asshole friend, Gavin’, that’d be a lot more accurate.”_

_“You don’t mean that,” Gavin laughs again and moves to slide a leg in between Geoff’s, reaches up to kiss his cheek. “You love me.”_

_Geoff blows out a breath and looks up to the ceiling. “Wish I didn’t,” he mumbles._

 

“Don’t mean to get off topic but did he talk to you about last night at all?” Aleks asks, squinting his eyes.

“Like… you and Brett? Or him and… Meg?”

“... either one.”

“No to the former, yes to the latter,” Geoff sighs and grabs Aleks’ ass with both hands. “Now let daddy eat this ass,” he mumbles as he dives forward to shove his face between Aleks’ cheeks to press his tongue inside his hole.

He’s not going to think about Gavin, not when Aleks and his thick ass is right here, begging to be ate out. Geoff is supposed to have fun right now and thinking about everything he and Gavin _could_ be, how he could’ve handled this morning instead of rushing upstairs to cry out his frustration, that’s not fun at all.

What’s fun is twirling his tongue around the inside of Aleks’ hole, listening to Aleks’ whimpers, and feeling the tight grip of Aleks’ hand in his hair.

 

Aleks releases a loud groan into the room when Geoff pulls his tongue out to suck at his hole and his teeth grit together. “Fuck yeah, open me up,” Aleks breathes. “Better get me ready for that cock.”

Aleks telling Geoff to open him up is incredibly hot, like everything else he’s said tonight, and all of this is fun but… Geoff can’t get into it. He can act like he is and at a certain point, he’s genuinely having fun but a slight pang of guilt courses through him.

 _“She’s not the one for me because you are,” Gavin tells him. “You’ve_ **_always_ ** _been that one for me.”_

 

Geoff slowly trails his tongue along the rim of Aleks’ hole, diverting it’s trajectory path to press flat on the entrance, licking up and down before it pokes back inside.

 

_“Geoff, I’m in love with you,” Gavin confesses. “And you are too..."_

 

Geoff’s eyes slam tighter shut and he presses his nails into Aleks’ ass, scraping along the skin while his tongue rapidly moves inside.

 

_"I know you never stopped loving me, the way I love you now."_

 

“Oh, Geoff,” Aleks moans. “Fuck me, that’s so good, don’t stop.”

 

_“What if we just ran away together?”_

_Geoff furrows his eyebrows with a small grin as he averts his attention from the road to Gavin. “What?” He chuckles._

_“Obviously that’s not a reality for either of us,” Gavin chuckles. “And I quite like my job.”_

_“As do I.”_

_“But just imagine if we didn’t have to hide any of it. If we could just… I dunno, we could just **be**.” Gavin shrugs and looks out his window. “If there was that opportunity, would you take it?” _

 

And Geoff had told him yes. He’d take it in a heartbeat, no matter what.

Even though they already had this conversation years ago, his answer, despite everything that’s happened, is still the same.

It just took him awhile to get back around to it.

 

Geoff sighs as he pulls away from Aleks’ ass and he lets go to run his hands back through his hair. “Fuck, I can’t do this,” he says. “I hate to leave you with blue balls, dude, but I gotta stop. I can’t.”

“What’s wrong?” Aleks asks as he turns around to look down at Geoff. “You can tell me anything, that’s never changed.”

“Aleks, I’m in love with Gavin,” Geoff reveals. “I have been for… a long fuckin’ time and…” He swallows and rolls his lips back in thought, tapping his fingers against his knee. “And he’s been a real fucking idiot lately, but I really need to tell him that.”

Aleks presses his lips together and sighs through his nose, holding his arms to himself. “I’m not surprised,” he admits. “Does it uh, have anything to do with him and Meg-”

“Yeah,” Geoff says in a tone just above a whisper as he slides off the bed. “I’m sorry, dude, I’m real fucking sorry, but I gotta go.”

“It’s cool,” Aleks assures. “You love him,” he shrugs, “why should you wait to tell him, right?”

Geoff looks back to Aleks and smiles sadly before his gaze drops to the floor. “Don’t know. But uh, I’m not gonna wait anymore.”

“Well… go get him, champ.” Aleks holds up a fist and slightly pumps it with a smile. “Good luck.”

“I need all the luck I can get, dude.”

“I hope it works out but if it doesn’t,” Aleks rests his hands over his own chest, “I’ll be here. To talk, to lend a shoulder… or dick.”

Geoff chuckles and takes his phone out of his jeans. “That means a lot, thanks. And thanks uh, for being so cool. I really don’t wanna blue ball you-”

“Believe me when I say it wouldn’t be the first time today,” Aleks assures. “Now go find Gavin and be with him, be with the love of your life, dude. You deserve love.”

“Just promise you’ll have a good night?”

“Scout’s honor.”

Geoff breathes out slowly and nods, setting his hand on the door handle and waving at Aleks before he enters the hallway. He pulls up Gavin’s contact and opens their messages, rereading the last few from Gavin that he ignored.

 

 **[Gavvers]** Can we PLEASE talk about this morning?

 **[Gavvers]** Geoff, I’m sorry for most of the things I said, but I can’t apologize for telling you how I feel.

 **[Gavvers]** But we NEED to talk about this. Please...

 

Geoff swallows back the heat bubbling in his throat and he takes a deep breath to settle the anxiety in his stomach before he texts with shaky fingers.

 

 **[Himself]** I fucked up this morning. Huge.

 **[Himself]** I love you. I love you so much and I’m sorry for being a dick.

 **[Himself]** Where are you? I wanna go home, but only if you come with. I need you.

 

He looks up from his phone to see Brett walking quickly down the hall and they make eye contact, the both of them furrowing their eyebrows together.

“You okay?” Geoff asks.

“Was gonna go out with some Funhaus guys, left my ID in the hotel room,” Brett sighs. “Did you and Aleks have a good time?”

“Uh, had to cut it short,” Geoff reveals as he slides his phone back into his pocket. “He’s uh, all yours.”

And then he walks past Brett and down the rest of the hallway, into the elevator, and he looks up to the ceiling lights. Geoff closes his eyes and drums his fingers against his phone in an effort to curbtail his anxiety but he knows it’ll only be fully crushed when Gavin texts back to call him an asshole or-

_Buzz buzz. Buuuzz._

 

Geoff pulls his phone out with quickness and his heart drops, in the best way, when he sees two notifications from Gavin.

 

 **[Gavvers]** I’m at the arcade bar on 6th. Heard you were there earlier and went looking.

 **[Gavvers]** You really love me?

 **[Himself]** I’d rather tell you in person but I can’t wait anymore.

 **[Himself]** I wanna be with you. We still have to talk about stuff but no more waiting games - let’s do this.

 

Geoff slides his phone back into his pocket and looks back up to see the elevator doors have opened. With a small smile that does nothing to show how relieved and beaming he is on the inside, he walks out into the hotel lobby and out the door to make a beeline to that arcade bar he was at earlier.

 

True love doesn’t have a time limit - no time is too long and no distance is too far. True love shouldn’t have to wait but if it does, it can endure it because the prize at the end is worth everything in the world.

And Gavin Free is worth everything in the world to Geoff Ramsey.


	23. Loading... Please Standby...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett finally says "fuck it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> ...
> 
> :D
> 
> ...
> 
> >:D

**** Brett had stupidly left his ID in his hotel room so he has to come back and grab it before he can enter any bars with Adam and Bruce. It’s not like he needs it because he looks way above the age threshold and some bartenders are lenient but Brett wants to be better safe than sorry.

He stares down at the floor of the elevator with his arms resting on the bars behind him. Black floor panels border the small white tiles and the walls are crystalline panels, separated by gold bars. It’s like he’s taking an elevator to Heaven and considering the perfect way Aleks sucked him off earlier, that’d be fine with him.

It’s been so many hours since that happened but Brett has been thinking about it throughout the day, nonstop, and he can’t scrub it out of his mind.

Aleks’ tongue was deft and had a genius mind of its own, his lips were so soft, so plush, and it massaged his length _so well._ Then of course, there was Aleks’ words - and three in particular were enough for Brett to give into every single lust-laced thought he's ever had about Aleks.

 

_ “Pretty please, daddy?” Aleks purrs into his ear. _

Brett slams his eyes shut and stomps his foot against the floor. “I haaate him,” he whines.

_ You don’t hate him, you wanna fuck him. _

“I dooo,” he continues to whine and opens his eyes with a huff. “And I can’t.”

_ You’re the only one that’s holding yourself back. _

The elevator opens and Brett exits with another huff. “I’m not talking to myself anymore,” he mumbles.

Anyways, that’s why he wants to get drunk with Adam and Bruce. He’ll get drunk, forget everything sexual about Aleks, and he’ll live to see the next day. No thoughts of him and Geoff, no thoughts of this morning, and no thoughts of what _could_ happen, because that blowjob was the first and last. If it wasn’t, then Aleks wouldn’t be hooking up with Geoff right now.

_ I really hope they’re done. _

It’s pretty irritating that Aleks is hooking up with Geoff despite what they did this morning but then Brett remembers - he remembers and hates himself for it - that he specified to Aleks it was only gonna be one time. His signature might be on Aleks’ ass but that doesn’t mean Aleks belongs to him and obviously, Aleks can fuck who he wants.

Doesn’t mean Brett has to like it but it’s his own fault.

 

Picking up the pace, he turns the corner to see Geoff and their eyes lock onto one another, the both of them furrowing their eyebrows in confusion.

“You okay?” Geoff asks.

“Was gonna go out with some Funhaus guys, left my ID in the hotel room,” Brett sighs. “Did you and Aleks have a good time?”

_ Hopefully not TOO good. _

“Uh, had to cut it short,” Geoff reveals as he slides his phone back into his pocket. “He’s uh, all yours.”

Watching Geoff walk past, Brett crosses his arms over his chest and tilts his head, feeling more confused than before. “All mine?” he repeats to himself quietly. “What happened in there?”

Brett continues down the hall to his and Aleks’ hotel room and he easily slides the keycard into the slot, opening the door once he hears the “ding”. He can see the ends of the bed from the small hall he’s in and Aleks’ naked legs are scrambling towards the headboard. Brett continues further to see Aleks sitting at the edge of the bed with a blanket haphazardly covering his lap and when he looks to the floor, he sees Aleks’ jeans and boxers.

_ Should I be glad or upset that I got here just now? _

 

“Hey, dude.” Aleks nods his head. “What’s up?”

“Uh, I left my ID in here,” Brett replies as he looks away from the pile to instead survey the room for his ID.

“Oh, yeah, here it is,” Aleks says as he reaches to grab the ID on the nightstand. “Wonder why you left it in here.”

“Must’ve fell out,” Brett reasons as he comes forward to take it from Aleks’ hand. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Aleks assures. “So what are you doing now?”

“Gonna get drunk with Adam and Bruce,” Brett says while shoving the ID back into his wallet. “Would go myself but uh, looks like you and Geoff are kinda done so you could always come with?” He raises an eyebrow in curiosity. “But what happened with you and him? I saw him in the hall and he looked fucking shook, dude. What’d you tell him?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Aleks defends with a chuckle as he holds up his hands. “We were like… you know, about to do shit and then he just pulled away and told me he was in love with Gavin and he couldn’t do it and then he left.”

Brett’s eyes widen. “He seriously just _left?”_  he asks as he takes a seat beside Aleks. “You didn’t get to say anything?”

In hindsight, Brett isn’t surprised that Geoff is in love with Gavin. He felt the vibes from Gavin when they were talking in the office but Geoff seemed genuinely enamored with Aleks at the time that it crushed any reciprocation.

James was right. They really were a bit too close.

“I mean, yeah, me and him talked a little bit. He didn’t just leave me to dry…” Aleks purses his lips and looks to the ceiling. “Well, he kinda did but he was really sorry about it. I just told him to go after the love of his life and then he left annnd now I’m here.” He shrugs and looks down to pick at the threads of the blanket. “Pretty uneventful night apart from that.”

“Well… guess we can’t fault him,” Brett says softly. “You can’t get in the way of true love.”

Brett really does understand why Geoff left, and he deserves to be happy with Gavin, but he himself can’t fathom letting an opportunity like this slip past. Geoff had a super pretty blonde boy at his mercy and fingertips, so ready to be fucked, and he just leaves him to dry? Not even a quickie?

… then again, Brett would leave a guy to dry for Aleks. Allow a rephrase - he can’t fathom choosing time with anybody else over Aleks.

 

“For sure.” Aleks nods and then averts his eyes to burn a hole into the blanket. “Kinda wish he could’ve jerk me off or something before he left but I get it.”

“So he really did blue ball you, huh?” Brett chuckles and looks down to Aleks’ blanket. “Dude, I’m sorry.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time today.” Aleks looks up to Brett with a small smile. “I’ll just uh… what did you say before I sucked you off? You were gonna jerk it in the shower? That’s what I’m gonna do.”

And that’s when Brett realizes that he and Geoff are one in the same - they both left Aleks hanging.

“Fuck, I did blue ball you,” Brett sighs and runs his hands down his face. “I fell asleep on you, then I left you like this twice. I’m a fuckin’ bad friend, dude.”

In Brett’s defense, it wasn’t until after Aleks sucked him that he realized he didn’t want, but _needed_  more than just that blowjob. That’s just it though, an excuse. Excuses piled upon excuses for why he can’t do anything with Aleks.

He can’t fuck Aleks because that would affect the workplace, he can’t fuck Aleks because Aleks _probably_  doesn’t wanna go that far, he can’t fuck Aleks because the stars haven’t aligned themselves in the right way, etc. there’s always a reason, an excuse, that he can’t do it.

Honestly? These excuses are sort of… running thin. Brett is having a hard time sticking with them.

“I wasn’t expecting anything in return, if that helps,” Aleks assures as he throws off the covers, standing up from the bed. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Brett rests his hands on his knees and opens his eyes to see Aleks stretching his arms out in front of him… along with uh, a certain other body part.

_ Wow, that’s uh. Long. _

He swallows and rolls his lips back, breathing in through his nose before he forces himself to look to the side. “So like, you just sucked me off for the hell of it?”

“And to get you off. Duh,” Aleks scoffs. “I didn’t get off but watching you and hearing you was fucking hot. So worth it.”

Brett can’t help but grin at the strokes to his ego. “Glad I could live up to expectations,” he says.

“Actually, you exceeded them.” Aleks winks and rests a hand on Brett’s shoulder. “10 out of 10, would do again,” he says, running his hand down Brett’s shoulder and along his chest as he walks past.

Brett’s chest tenses and he raises his hand up over his pec, pressing it down hard enough like the feeling of Aleks’ hand will return if he does so. He looks over to Aleks as he bends down to grab clothes from his luggage, his gaze fixating itself on Aleks’ ass on instinct.

_ Push him down and fuck him. _

 

Brett shakes his head and grunts to himself as he stands up from the bed, shoving his wallet back into his pocket. “Uh, well I’m gonna… head back out,” he announces. “You’re free to join us after you get out, we’ll be hanging around 6th Street again. Just send me a text when you’re done.”

Aleks stands up with a new pair of sweatpants and boxers, then turns around to face Brett with a thumbs up. “Sounds like a plan, my man.” Aleks winks and clicks his tongue.

“Cool, yeah.” Brett nods and gives him a little wave before he turns his back. “See ya later then.”

He proceeds out of the bedroom area and down the small hallway, staring straight ahead at the door that will take him out of this room of perverse temptation and into the real world, where Adam and Bruce are waiting. Aleks joining them later is a detriment to Brett’s plan to not think about him but Aleks not being around him is a detriment to Brett’s happiness so obviously, he’ll go with the latter.

 

_ You’re gonna get drunk, have a good time, and nurse a bad hangover the next morning. It’ll be fun. _

With a nod at his thoughts, Brett rubs his hands together and continues to the door. He reaches in to take out his keycard but then a familiar line from a rather long love explanation breaks through the barrier of his mind and he leans against the wall, tapping the keycard back and forth against his thigh in retrospection.

_ “Don’t be afraid to take risks with love, guys,” Geoff advises. “... don’t let anything stop you from going after them.” _

“He’s not gonna wanna do anything,” Brett says to himself.

_ He just said 10 out of 10, would do again? Yes he does. _

“He was memeing. Obviously.”

_ Was he? You don’t know until you find out. Pussy. _

Brett rolls his eyes and looks off to the bedroom area, the bathroom door open by a crack. He hears footsteps against the tile and the opening of another door, probably Aleks going to grab a towel.

_ Remember how he looked when you came into his mouth? How willing he was to swallow it? _

He wanted to swallow specifically _for Brett._ And then he whined, begged for Brett, _for daddy,_ to come in his mouth and he happily took the entire load. Aleks didn’t even complain about the taste (not until Brett asked) and he could have, Brett would totally understand, but in the moment, it looked like it was the best thing in the world to him - that _Brett_  was the best thing in the world, the one thing that could make him come alive.

And Brett had never felt more alive than this morning with Aleks.

Brett rolls his lips back between his teeth and looks back to the bathroom, where Aleks is currently alone. He worries at his bottom lip, nips and runs his teeth along it in concentration.

Geoff didn’t hesitate to leave Aleks to go after the love of his life. Brett isn’t into Aleks that much but you know what? He’s not really hesitating to leave Adam and Bruce to their own devices so he can go after Aleks.

The sound of rushing water can be heard now and Brett shakes his head, because he is _not_ going to let Aleks take care of something by himself when he’s readily available, with hands and a mouth. Brett owes it to Aleks, _to himself,_ to make Aleks feel good.

_ Ruin everybody else for him. _

 

“Fuck it,” Brett breathes as he takes out everything from his pockets, tossing them onto the table in the hall before he heads straight to the bathroom. “Aleks!” he calls out.

“Brett?” Aleks calls out. “Why are you still here, dude?”

Brett doesn’t answer. He just pushes open the bathroom door to stand at the foot of it and when the door fully opens, Aleks’ body, as naked as it was this morning, enters his vision.

Aleks has a hand under the shower to test out the water and a foot on the threshold, ready to enter. He looks back and forth and furrows his eyebrows together. “Uh,” he says, “did you forget something else or-”

“I don’t mind returning the favor from this morning,” Brett says before he licks along his lips, openly checking Aleks out. “I owe it to you.”

He’s a bit discouraged when Aleks chuckles, like it’s some sort of joke, when Brett is actually being very serious for once… maybe he does think it’s a joke? Should Brett elaborate, tell Aleks that he, for real, wants to show him a good time? Did he just not make it obvious enough?

“I’m serious.” Brett steps into the bathroom and crosses his arms over his chest. “Let me get you off.”

Aleks isn’t laughing anymore. He even turns off the water and thus the room becomes eerily silent, the only noise being the slow drips of water against the porcelain, _  drip. Drip. Drip.  _ Aleks rolls his lips back and stares down at the dripping water, tapping his fingers back and forth against the white tiles. His tongue pokes out to slowly lick along his lips and his other hand rests on his thigh, fingers splaying out and roaming inwards to graze over his length.

Brett’s eyes dip to Aleks’ wandering fingers and he breathes in deeply as he shifts his weight, leaning against the doorway and reaching down to adjust the growing bulge in his jeans. “I haven’t stopped thinking about what you did this morning,” he admits, in a quiet tone, but it sounds so loud amidst the silence. “And I really… like…” He chuckles and shakes his head, running his teeth along his lip. “I really wanna do this for you.”

Aleks steps off the threshold and closes the shower doors before he slowly looks over to Brett. When his eyes dip down to Brett’s bulge, he swallows and reaches his hand up to run back through his blonde hair. Quickly looking back to Brett, he asks, “what would you do to me?”

Blinking a few times, Brett shrugs and leans back off the doorway so he can stalk towards Aleks. “It can be whatever you want,” he offers. “I could jerk you off, blow you, finger you-”

“That.” Aleks nods and meets Brett halfway. “Let’s do that.”

“Fingering?”

“Is that cool?”

“Like I said, whatever you want.” Brett looks down and offers his hand, twiddling his fingers. “Take my hand… and I’ll lead you to a world of _pure imagination.”_

Aleks chuckles as he takes Brett’s hand and allows Brett to take him out of the bathroom. “Are you gonna quote more Willy Wonka when you’re fingering me?”

“Are you into that?”

“No.”

“What are you into, exactly?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“You’re a fucking tease, dude,” Brett sighs and looks over to the bed. “Lay back for me.”

“Did you notice that I was teasing you all day?” Aleks chuckles as he climbs onto the bed, crawling up to the headboard and turning to lay on his back.

“Wow, really?” Brett asks in monotone as he climbs onto the bed. “I thought you were just sucking that lollipop on the podcast, where everybody can see, for the hell of it.”

“I mean, it was tasty,” Aleks argues. “But your dick is like, more tasty.”

“Yeah?” Brett raises an eyebrow and grabs Aleks’ legs so he can spread them apart. “Had to taste pretty good if you were willing to swallow for me - real hot, by the way.”

“Anything for you, daddy.” Aleks winks and reaches up to grab Brett’s hat, tossing it from his head. “When are you gonna fucking keep that shit off your head?”

Surprisingly, the name is easier to handle in a sexual context - he knows for a fact Aleks wants him in that way, whereas all the other times were simple teases, done in humorous fashion. Brett doesn’t have to close his eyes and focus his mind to a nonsexual plane, doesn’t have to curse himself for wanting Aleks like that. This is allowed now, and encouraged.

“It hides my bald spot,” Brett explains. “You into it?” he asks as he runs his hands down the bottom of Aleks’ legs, very slowly, before he presses the tips of his fingers into the skin, dragging them back up.

“I like your hair, actually,” Aleks defends. “I just like everything about your body, you know?”

And as Brett’s eyes scan the entirety of Aleks’ lithe body, trails along the meticulously well done lines of his vibrant tattoos and the natural dips of his hipbones and chest, his collarbone, everything in between, he tells Aleks that “the feeling is very mutual.”

Brett continues to admire Aleks’ body with his eyes and he wonders how the hell he managed to get a guy like him. Every part of his body is perfect, from his legs to his inked arms, his pudgy stomach and slender sides, it all comes together in an exquisite silhouette that’s uniquely Aleks. Brett wishes they had all the time in the world but then, there’s never really going to be enough time to drink in this beauty.

He blinks up and notices that Aleks’ eyes are doing an investigation of their own. Brett quirks a smile and settles back on his knees, allows Aleks to fully draw his body and save it to his mind much like he did. When Aleks looks up into Brett’s eyes, Brett raises his eyebrows in acknowledgment and then he tilts his head, looks down to Aleks’ lips and licks along his own.

_ Fuck, I really wanna kiss him. _

 

A hot breath parts open Aleks’ lips and he presses them close again, swallows back a noise before the tip of his tongue trails along his teeth. He closes his eyes tightly and breathes in through his nose before he slightly turns onto his side so he can reach to grab for the lube inside the nightstand. Without a word, he hands it to Brett and Brett looks the completely new bottle over while he taps his thumb against the side.

It’d be easy to just slide a finger into Aleks’ hole and start poking around. Brett wouldn’t consider himself an expert, although he’s received nothing but compliments from the men he’s been with so he assumes he’s doing a good job, but this is _Aleks._  Brett needs to do a good job for him - it’s not like with the other men, where he can just never call them again. Brett might just be fingering Aleks (even that thought is laughable because this is still a big step for them) but he’s going to pull out the stops to bring him all the pleasure that he can.

“Actually,” Brett says as he hands the lube back to Aleks, “I want you to finger yourself, just for a little bit. I wanna get an idea of what you like so I can do it for you.” He raises an eyebrow at Aleks. “Can you do that for me? Do that for daddy?” he asks.

“If you keep calling yourself daddy, then I’ll do anything you want,” Aleks chuckles and takes the lube. “Hell yeah, I can do that for daddy.”

“Next time I need you to do something, just call myself daddy.” Brett gives a thumbs up. “We found a loophole in Aleks.”

“Aleks’ fingers are gonna be in Aleks real soon.” Aleks pops open the cap and drizzles the substance onto his fingers, rubbing them together to warm it up.

Brett fixes his gaze on Aleks’ coated fingers as they move down the center of his body towards his ass. Aleks’ other hand moves down to hold open one of his cheeks and Brett snatches it away so he can do the honors for him and he has to dig his nails in and grab the flesh because like, it’s Aleks’ ass, he can’t leave it ungrabbed!

Also, his signature is still quite prevalent on that tush. It’s pretty much his duty to touch it.

“Thanks,” Aleks breathes. Watching Brett, he trails the finger around the rim of his hole and his eyes darken when he hears a heavy breath leave Brett’s mouth. He bites down on his lips as he trails the finger upwards to the skin beneath his balls, pressing down on the muscle and rubbing his finger around in a circle. He closes his eyes and leans his head back against the pillow with a whine but it graduates into a relieved moan as the finger pushes inside.

Brett knows he needs to be watching Aleks and he is, for the most part - he never thought to press underneath his balls like that. But then he hears Aleks moan and his eyes flicker up to watch his face as he fingers himself and it becomes the permanent resting place. Aleks’ expressions as he slides the finger in and out, the subtle concentration that laces his features, is something that Brett can not ignore.

 

“Do you finger yourself a lot?” Brett asks as he moves one of his hands over Aleks’ chest, splaying his fingers over the pec so he can brush his thumb back and forth along his nipple. “You think about anything in particular when you do it?”

_“You,”_ Aleks breathes out a moan and arches his back into Brett’s hand. “I-I don’t do it a lot but when I do, you’re always what I think about.” He lids his eyes open to stare at Brett and it doesn’t seem like he cares much about Brett not watching his fingers. “When you jerk off, what do you think about?”

A groan pushes past Brett’s gritted teeth and the pad of his thumb rubs Aleks’ nipple in a gentle circle. “Really wanna know?”

With a small moan, Aleks nods quickly and wets his dry lips. “Please.”

“I think about _you,”_ Brett admits. “I think about being that big, strong man you’ve always wanted.”

Aleks moans again and as he pushes another finger inside, the moan escalates much louder and his eyes slam shut. _“Brett,”_ he moans. “Please, do it.”

“Do what?”

“Finger me,” Aleks pleads. “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Please, _daddy,_ finger me.”

He didn’t really finger himself for Brett too long but Brett stopped watching in the beginning so the original point of it was lost. That doesn’t mean it’s a total loss, however, because Brett _did_ get to hear Aleks moan his name and admit that he’s fingered himself thinking about him. Brett wonders how long it’s been going on but that’s not a question he’ll ask right now, not when there’s higher priorities on his list.

 

With a grin, Brett takes his hands off Aleks so he can grab the lube from the nightstand. “Good boy. Take your fingers out.”

Aleks releases a long sigh as he slides his fingers out from his hole. He wipes the excess lube on his legs and reaches back to hold onto the pillow, watching as Brett slathers his fingers in the lube. “Just so you know? I hate begging.”

“That’s a shame, because you do it really well.”

“I play Minecraft pretty well too and I hate that.”

Brett snorts and shakes his head as he climbs over one of Aleks’ legs to lay on his side beside him. “No, you don’t.”

“You’re right,” Aleks mumbles. “Still hate begging.”

“But you won’t mind doing it when daddy wants you to, right?” Brett raises an eyebrow at Aleks as he moves his lubed fingers down the line of his torso. “You said you’d do anything daddy waaants~” he says in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Aleks closes his eyes and rolls his lips back with a hum as Brett trails a finger around his entrance. “Within reason,” Aleks elaborates with a slightly strained voice.

Brett purses his lips and nods, deciding not to tackle it any further. He’s about to finger Aleks so they don’t need to take anymore monumental steps tonight.

 

He watches Aleks as he rubs his finger against the soft skin under his balls, humming his approval at the groan Aleks lets out.

“Looks like you were paying attention,” Aleks breathes.

“Of course,” Brett says. “I wanna make you feel good and I’ll do anything I can for that.”

“You’re real determined to show me a good time,” Aleks chuckles. “More than anybody else has.”

“I wanna be better than anybody else,” Brett explains as he presses the first finger inside Aleks and he actually moans when Aleks throws his head back against the pillow with a moan of his own, so much louder than Brett’s. “Looks like I’m doing a pretty good job at it,” Brett breathes.

Pushing the finger in deeper, Brett wiggles it back and forth. When he can’t push it in any further, he crooks it upwards and does that constantly for a few moments before he slides it back to the tip, and then he pushes it back in to resume the wiggling motions. Aleks moans his approval every time Brett does so and he tightens his grip on the pillow, slams his eyes tighter shut so he can focus on all the swirling sensations that are starting to fester inside him.

In the beginning throes of pleasure, Aleks is magnificently beautiful. He commands all of Brett’s attention and Brett doesn’t want to focus on anything else, he _can’t._ He’s so invested in Aleks, how _tight_ Aleks is, as well as this moment between them because god knows when he’ll get another opportunity like this. Brett’s in too far to back out now and he’s glad to have put the excuses behind him.

While he longs to do more with Aleks, all the activities that happy couples do, he’s just thankful to do _something_ with him. Geoff was right when he said the risk was worth it and Aleks is worth a whole lot.

 

A long mewl pushes past Aleks’ pursed lips and he gyrates his hips on Brett’s finger to chase the growing pleasure. His lips are wet and they look so silky smooth, near impeccable, and Brett bets that his own lips could glide so easily over his. He could totally get away with kissing Aleks right now and when he kissed Aleks this morning, Aleks seemed to enjoy it but kissing is rather intimate, isn’t it?

It’s funny, how the simple act of kissing can be considered too much when his finger is deep in Aleks, but the concept of sex and sensuality is so complicated.

There’s no rulebook for sex. There’re a myriad of ways one can approach it but make too many wrong moves, you risk losing everything. One wrong move is fine, you can probably get away with two, or three, it really depends on the person but you never quite truly know what’s right and what’s wrong… unless you communicate, which is a rather simple fix that not many people know.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Brett asks quietly.

Aleks lids his eyes open at Brett with a small hum. “If you ask me to beg, I’ll spit in your face, dude.”

“Ooh”. Brett winks. “Don’t threaten me with a good time - also was not _at all_  what I was gonna ask, by the way.”

“So what is it?”

Brett’s eyes dip down to Aleks’ soft, smooth looking lips and he slides his tongue along his upper lip. He breathes in and looks back into Aleks’ eyes, moves his head so their mouths can be closer together.

“Can I kiss you?” Brett whispers.

Taking a hand off the pillow to rest on his chest, Aleks blinks and looks down to Brett’s lips. His hand lightly trails up and down between his own pecs, the fingertips dancing along his skin before it reaches upwards to his collarbone. His hand splays out, presses on his chest, and with a nod, he takes the other hand off the pillow to thread into the back of Brett’s hair, pushing at his head so they can both meet each other at the same, precise moment.

 

The first press of their lips lights Brett ablaze.

Brett was so cold before but Aleks’ lips warm him right back up. His lips are as soft as Brett thought, they’re just like all the other times they kissed but this one is different because there’s an underlying need to kiss the other. It’s not for comedy, not for show, it’s completely real and it’s a culmination of all the tension that’s accumulated in the last few months.

Brett’s not stupid, he was entirely aware of that tension, but it isn’t until now that he realizes how stupid he was not to act sooner.

_ Better late than never. _

With a moan, Brett slides his tongue into Aleks’ mouth and Aleks moans louder, he always does, like he’s needed Brett far longer than Brett’s needed him and he can’t really debate the validity of that, doesn’t want to because the louder Aleks is, the hotter.

The hand on Aleks’ chest raises to grab the collar of Brett’s jersey and he tilts his head, giving Brett permission to completely explore his mouth and Brett doesn’t waste time in taking advantage of it.

Brett remembers some of the ridges and bumps he feels and if he wasn’t so turned on, he’d probably laugh at the fact that they’ve kissed so many times, sober and drunk, for this to be familiar. He still explores like it’s his first time, however, wants to completely remember the inside of Aleks’ mouth. Brett wants to close his eyes and be able to perfectly envision what it feels like to kiss Aleks this deep, just in case they don’t do it again.

All good things have to come to an end and after what seems like, fuck, not even years, but decades and _centuries,_ they pull away from the other’s mouth at a leisurely pace. They look into each other’s eyes first before their pupils roam over the other’s face in sheer awe over the fact that one kiss could feel _this good_ and for Brett, the blown look of lust in Aleks’ eyes interestingly drowns the flames incinerating the internal workings of his mind.

But the more Brett looks at Aleks, the quicker he breathes and each breath he takes is a small jolt of electricity that makes his muscles twitch and move by their own accord. His free arm slips underneath Aleks’ upper back, fingertips curl against the shoulder and press tight and they look back into each other’s eyes once more, searching for any ounce of confirmation that they can resume the good thing they had going on, that maybe it doesn’t have to come to an end.

_ Can I kiss you again? _

And as Aleks nods, they both close their eyes and surge forward, a mix of a moan and a whine leaving their mouths as they claim the others lips once again, much more passionate than before - because that was still possible.

 

The second press of their lips, however, electrifies Brett entirely and Aleks is caught in the shockwaves.

It should send Brett’s body into a frenzied mess because something of that magnitude should wreck his systems but the shock actually repairs it and it does so enough that it transports his soul back to that celestial datastream he and Aleks are a part of.

In this datastream, they both do their part in helping it stay intact - Brett makes up the 0’s, Aleks makes up the 1’s, and when put together, they create the stable binary code that holds it all in place and protects the both of them and their datastream from corruption. His soul is in the datastream but his body is still operating on real terms, it has to, otherwise Aleks wouldn’t feel so fucking real.

Brett takes his finger out of Aleks and gets right in between Aleks’ legs so he can hoist Aleks’ leg over his waist and once he does, he wraps that arm around Aleks to hold his naked body closed to his fully clothed one.

Aleks moans into Brett’s mouth and tightens the leg around Brett’s waist as he tugs at the collar of his jersey, slides his tongue out of Brett’s mouth to nibble along his bottom lip, drag it out with his teeth before he lets go with a smack and then he licks it better, swipes his tongue up the middle of Brett’s lips with another moan before it shoves back in.

Breathing out through his nose, Brett suddenly turns them around so Aleks can straddle his body. Once Aleks is on top, Brett digs his hands into Aleks’ back and drags the nails slowly and harshly downwards, leaves red lines in the wake, all the way to his ass and he spanks one of the cheeks before he grabs a good handful.

With a purr, Aleks rolls his body down against Brett’s and Brett moans at the friction against his denim-clad erection, thrusting his hips upwards in response.

Brett’s aware that he keeps diverting from the main objective - watch Aleks finger himself, get distracted by his natural beauty. Finger Aleks, he takes them out entirely so he can roam his hands all over his body, and so much more.

There’s just _so many things_  he wants to do to Aleks, that he _can_ do, and his mind is overwhelmed by the possibilities and it fries the complex circuits of his brain, forces it to work off the next available motherboard that primarily houses his primal lust.

 

One of the hands on Aleks’ ass moves off to the side, into the crack of it, and he pokes out two fingers to trail up and down his hole. Aleks squeezes his legs against Brett’s and pushes back on his fingers and as Brett chuckles lowly against his lips, he pushes the two fingers inside, all the way, to immediately sought after the spot inside Aleks he knows will make him cry out in pure pleasure.

Aleks pulls away from Brett’s mouth with a whine and he drops his face into Brett’s neck. “Deeper,” he moans. “You’re so close, Brett.”

“Am I?” he asks. “How close am… ooh, hey,” he chuckles again. “What’s this?” And as he presses them in, all the way to the knuckle, he turns them over so he can sweep them back and forth against the sweet bundle of nerves and he knows that’s it when Aleks tightens around him with the most gorgeous cry Brett has ever head from anybody.

“There, holy fucking _shit,_ dude,” Aleks whines and wrings his fingers tightly in Brett’s jersey, curls the fabric together. “Th-That’s so good, keep them right there.”

“You got it, baby.”

He makes do on his promise by constantly stimulating that spot and he’s rewarded when Aleks keeps crying out, over and over, but the real prize is knowing that in this moment, Aleks is more desperate for Brett than anything or anybody else. He depends solely on Brett for his pleasure and he clings to him so tightly, like he’s trying to keep Brett from leaving him to dry but no way in hell Brett will do that, not now.

He wants to reassure Aleks this so the free hand moves upwards to card through the blonde strands covering Aleks’ scalp, gently scratches against it, and he leaves a lingering kiss to the top of Aleks’ head.

“Shhh,” Brett soothes. “Daddy’s got you. You’re such a good boy for him, you know that?”

“And you’re such a good daddy, fingering me so much better than anybody else,” Aleks praises before he mouths a chaste kiss to Brett’s neck. “God, it feels so _good,_ Brett, thank you.”

Brett shakes his head and kisses his head once more. “No no, thank _you,”_ he purrs. “Thank you for everything you do for me.”

Aleks truly has no idea what he does for Brett and it’s not just sexual either. Without him, Brett wouldn’t be where he is right now in his life. He wouldn’t have realized how much he’s actually worth, would have never left Machinima, and he would’ve never joined the Creatures in a behind the scenes role. The Creatures was a shitfest towards the end but Aleks was that beacon of hope that kept him hanging on and when Aleks wanted to break away with James, find an outlet where his creativity can really shine, of course Brett wanted to hop on board.

It’s the least he can do for Aleks - and it’s why he takes his job so seriously, why he doesn’t, or didn’t, wanna risk sexual escapades of the hottest degree. He doesn’t want to do anything that’ll put their workplace in a bad position, definitely not their friendship either, but now Aleks is straddling Brett and moaning his name, he’s totally naked and hard because of _Brett,_ and Brett wonders why he shouldn’t treat himself to these fine things in life.

He keeps fingering the moans and cries out of Aleks and though he’s hard as hell, he isn’t worrying about himself right now - he’s only thinking about showing Aleks a good time and he’ll do anything to ensure that. But then, Aleks whines and moves his hands up to thread into the sides of Brett’s hair and his forehead presses down onto Brett’s, their hot breathes mingling together and ghosting over each other’s lips.

 

“I need _more,”_ Aleks moans. “I need so much more, Brett.”

Brett looks down to Aleks’ lips and asks, “a third finger?”

Aleks shakes his head.

“A fourth finger?”

Aleks bites at his bottom lip and shakes his head again, curls his fingers tighter in Brett’s hair, like if he does it hard enough then Brett will know what he's trying to ask.

Brett furrows his eyebrows and looks back into Aleks’ eyes. “Five fingers? You’re into fisting?”

Aleks manages a laugh and then bites down on his lips to stifle it, shaking his head before he presses his lips to Brett, a simple peck on the lips. “No,” he says. “You… you said you’d do anything I want, right?”

“Of course.” Brett nods. “Anything for you. Just tell me.”

But there’s absolutely nothing in the world, no person, no set of words, that could prepare Brett for what Aleks, his crush, _his closest friend,_ tells him.

 

"I want you to fuck me.”


	24. ... Loaded! All Systems Ready!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett fucks Aleks... though it takes some reassurance from Aleks to get around to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer, I would NEVER desecrate my written art for the sole purpose of April Fool's Day memez. What you see in that summary is what you're gonna get.

****This is real.

Aleks wants Brett to fuck him.

Aleks is sober and he said it himself, in the hottest voice, that he wants Brett to fuck him.

Brett has permission to pull his pants down right now, grab his dick, and push it inside Aleks.

_Brett can fuck Aleks._

It’s everything Brett has ever wanted. It’s all of his fantasies coming to life right before his eyes so it should be easy to go right ahead with it when they both clearly want this. There’s no way to hear _“I want you to fuck me”_ as anything but the way it was said - it can only be interpreted one way

There is no doubt at all, not even a sliver, that Aleks wants him.

Aleks’ words resuscitate the complex circuitry of Brett’s brain and the first facet that’s restored is Brett’s perception of reality. It’s why he becomes aware of how real this all is, remembers that it’s no longer a dream…

…

……

………

… but as good as it sounds, to fuck Aleks like he’s been wanting for so long, it’s only one time. Brett isn’t sure he can handle that.

That’s all it’ll be - because what happens in Texas, unfortunately, will stay in Texas. So while it is real, so fucking real, such a tremendous idea on paper, it’s a different thing in reality.

 

Brett’s fingers still inside Aleks and he looks off to the side, away from Aleks and his sexy body so he can continue to think clearly. “That’s a bad idea,” Brett says as he removes his fingers.

“What the fuck, _how?”_ Aleks demands in a groan as he sits up on Brett’s body to look down at him. “I fucking blew you earlier, you just fingered me, and you even said when you were drunk last night that you’ve been wanting this-”

“But sex is a big step, Aleks,” Brett reasons, leaning up from the bed so he can sit against the headboard.

“Sex is all I _want,”_ Aleks stresses on the edge of a whine.

_That’s sort of the problem here._

“It’s just sex, Brett.” Aleks relaxes on top of Brett’s lap and, keeping a hand on the collar of his shirt, the other moves to thread into the back of his hair like before. His fingertips scratch gently at Brett’s scalp, trying in vain for his attention. “I know you want it too.”

Brett closes his eyes with a small groan and he turns his head to face Aleks, opening his eyes to stare into his with an almost pleading expression. “Don’t make me tell you no again, dude,” Brett says quietly. “That’s the last thing I wanna-”

“Look, if you’re worried that it’ll make things weird between us or whatever the fuck, I doubt it will…” Aleks swallows and rolls his lips back, looks down to Brett’s. “If anything, I think it’ll just make us closer.”

It might bring them closer together, physically and mentally, but it’s not as close as Brett wants.

They’re not gonna be so close that they tell each other all of their deepest secrets, so close that they spend almost every second together because being without the other for even a second is too much to bear, so close that they start and end the day in each other’s arms and Brett’s fine with that knowledge, he really is, just as long as he knew he and Aleks fucking wouldn’t be this one time thing.

But it is.

He’ll get one taste of Aleks and Brett won’t know what to do with himself afterwards.

Brett hasn’t said anything and the room is so silent that he hears Aleks’ breathing, the quietness of Aleks’ fingers carding through his hair, but Aleks’ whine pierces through the silence completely. His mouth is right against Brett’s ear as he does it too so Brett can hear the desperation in his pitch.

 

“I _know_  you wanna fuck me,” Aleks moans and Brett slams his eyes shut, tries to focus on anything but Aleks. “I’ve been driving you crazy since I moved in and if you told me that sooner, I could’ve just pushed you down and fuck myself on you, _fuck,_ you don’t even have to do anything, Brett, just lay back and let me do the work but I _know, ”_ he whines and settles his ass over Brett’s erection so he can grind back and forth along the outline, “you want me too. It's so stupid to keep holding back.”

That must’ve been something he told Aleks when he was drunk because he doesn’t remember telling him that _at all._ Brett vaguely remembers that night, how he did a body shot off Aleks and made out with him, how he almost fucked him and fell asleep, but Aleks seems to remember that night with much more clarity and he’s taking advantage of that by using Brett’s own words against him.

He can’t be mad at Aleks telling the truth. Aleks _has_  been driving him crazy since he moved in and Brett _does_  want him too, probably more than Aleks wants him and while it’s getting harder to say no when Aleks is grinding down on him _so good_ , it’s not impossible.

Brett is an adult. An adult male. An adult male that can control himself and his urges

 

Brett manages to grab Aleks’ hips to maneuver him off his lap, and then he scrambles away from the bed. “Aleks, I told you it was a bad idea,” Brett says as he stands up straight, prepares himself to walk away, but then Aleks kneels up to wrap his arms around Brett’s neck from behind, breathes against his ear, and Brett’s body shivers all over.

“I’ll let you come in me, _daddy,”_ Aleks purrs. “You’ve never done that before, have you? Gone bare?”

Brett slams his eyes shut and raises an eyebrow along with a finger. “What did I say about using that name on me?”

And as Aleks’ hands roam downwards to rest over Brett’s chest, he tells Brett, “you’re not answering my question.”

Rolling his lips back, Brett hums and he hopes that the hum will strike an interference to cut his mind off from any sexual thoughts. Leave it to him to develop a crush on one of the biggest minxes in modern history. Brett is stubborn, to a fault, but Aleks is damn persistent and right now, it’s a game of who will crack first - Brett and his self control or Aleks and his determination.

Brett breathes out through his nose and shakes his head. “No, I’ve never gone bare,” he admits.

He doesn’t want any illegitimate children or STD’s, after all, but going bareback is a much more viable option when he’s fucking dudes. Doesn’t mean that Brett will partake but he has thought about it, a whole lot. The only thing stopping him is that he doesn’t trust anybody that much, doesn’t know that they’re clean, and it’s not a risk he’s willing to take.

“Why don’t you let me be that first for you?” Aleks offers as one of his hands continue down Brett’s chest, past his belt, and splays over his bulge. “It feels so good, Brett, you feel _every single thing_  and it’s been so _long_  since I’ve had somebody fill me up,” Aleks moans and cups Brett’s erection to palm it softly. “I know you’d fill me up so good, you’re so _thick_  and I’m so _tight,_ don’t you think I’m tight?”

 _“So_  fucking tight,” Brett breathes and opens his eyes to stare ahead at the window, blinds open to reveal the faint glow of distant starlight outside.

“Then imagine how good you’ll feel when you’re all the way inside my tight ass.”

It’d feel so fucking good and Brett… no! No, he can’t fuck him! He… fuck, he really wants to fuck Aleks though, so bad.

Aleks is like, super hot, and he’s rubbing him through his jeans, that’s super hot too, he’s whispering and purring into his ear and damn, that’s hot as hell, and everything he’s doing is hot. It’s like fire from the goddamn sun and with how scorching it is, Brett feels like this hotel room is at the perihelion of orbit and he’s desperate to switch to the farthest point at aphelion.

The chemicals in the air are highly volatile and one wrong move from Aleks is enough to explode this entire room which now houses Brett’s control. But as long as Brett traverses carefully, he can escape and make it through to the safe point of aphelion, completely away from Aleks and his incredibly seductive tactics.

 

“It’s not…” Brett shakes his head. “It’s not happening.”

“It’s not?”

“No.”

“But _this,”_ Aleks cups his hand tighter on Brett’s bulge, “tells me different.”

Brett’s not denying that he wants to shove his cock so far in Aleks he can’t walk the next morning. He also won’t deny how much he likes Aleks and he wants a lot more than to fuck Aleks just one time… but then, Aleks is so _hot_. So _persistent._ Aleks’ determination hasn’t faltered at all, in fact, it’s grown, whereas Brett’s self control is waning quick...

“Come _on,_ daddy,” Aleks purrs as he slips his hand underneath the waistband of Brett’s jeans and briefs to grab his length, slowly begins to jerk him off. “I know how hard you are and you need to fuck me so you can get off too. You need me, I need _you,”_ he breathes, “so let’s do each other a favor.”

Brett closes his eyes with a moan and lulls his head back onto Aleks’ shoulder. “Aleks…” he breathes.

“I love it when you moan my name, daddy,” Aleks praises as his free hand moves up to grab Brett’s chin. “Yeah, you’re a good daddy for me, aren’t you? Come here...”

_I’m such a good daddy… the best daddy..._

And as Aleks moves forward to capture Brett’s mouth with his own, the chemicals in the room explode with Brett’s control and he ends up totally melting into the kiss. Aleks grins against his lips at his own victory while he shoves his tongue inside Brett’s mouth and Brett moans as their tongues meet, keeps his own pliant so Aleks can explore his mouth and experience the pleasure Brett did when he had the honors of doing so earlier.

Aleks coaxes Brett down so he’s sitting on the edge of the bed and his hand stops but not once, does their kiss falter in passion. Aleks’ lips are an aphrodisiac that soothes Brett’s anxieties and pulls him back into the datastream, which Aleks now rules, to continue where they left off. He’s the one that takes the reins and Brett can’t fight it, or so it’s what he tells himself.

“Whose daddy are you?” Aleks asks in between kisses.

“Yours,” Brett breathes. “I’m your daddy.”

“And are you gonna be a good daddy and fill me up?”

“Of course.”

“Are you gonna lie down and watch me fuck myself on you, huh?” Aleks bites at Brett’s bottom lip and drags it out, back and forth, before he lets go with a groan. “Are you going to relax?” he asks as the hand on Brett’s chin moves to thread back in his hair, tugs hard so their lips are far enough apart that it denies Brett the pleasure of kissing.

Brett chases after his aphrodisiac, his new addiction, and he whines when it’s just barely out of his reach. He rolls his hips into Aleks’ hand, or he tries to but Aleks tightens the grip on his shaft and refuses to move his hand and his whine is even louder at being denied two sources of pleasure.

“I asked you,” Aleks tugs on his hair again and relishes in Brett’s grunt, “if you’re going to relax. Yes or no?”

“Yes, Aleks.” Brett nods. “I promise.”

_I’ll fuck you._

Removing his hand from the inside of Brett’s pants, Aleks asks, “don’t you feel so much better just giving in?” and as he raises an eyebrow, he lets go of Brett’s hair. “Now take off your clothes, _all of them,_ so I can see _all of you.”_

Brett knows he lost this game but he doesn’t feel like a loser in the slightest. Aleks leeched all of his energy during their kiss but he breathed new life back into him and Brett owes Aleks for giving him another chance at life, a chance at experiencing a great pleasure that he’s only been able to fantasize about.

 

He grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it up and over his head before he flings it on top of Aleks’ jeans and boxers. Brett stands up to undo his jeans and he pulls them down along with his briefs, stepping out and grabbing the articles to toss them into the pile of clothes. When he turns around, fully naked and hard, Aleks is sat on his knees with his hands resting in between and his lips are parted open, eyes glazed over as they stare ahead at Brett’s thickness.

So often he’s admired Aleks’ body today and it’s great to be on the other side. It’s like the times Aleks has checked him out before, when he wakes up to see Brett shirtless in the kitchen or when he watches Brett work out, but it’s that multiplied by the 10th power. Only now when Aleks checks him out, Brett realizes that he looks at Aleks in the exact same way and it makes him wonder if there’s a chance Aleks feels the way he does, like, _romantically…_

… but those chances are small. Brett’s realistic. He won’t get his hopes up.

Aleks breathes in deeply and exhales a whine as he moves forward to Brett. “God, you’re so fucking hot,” he breathes while grabbing Brett’s hands to tug him towards the bed. “I can’t wait for you to fuck me, Brett.”

“I got that impression.” Brett intertwines his fingers with Aleks’ so he can maneuver Aleks’ arms around his neck and once he does, he lets go of Aleks’ hands to grab the back of his thighs. “And uh, you know what?” Brett shrugs. “I can’t wait either now,” he says while he hoists Aleks up into the air, holding onto him tightly as he kneels up on the bed before he slams Aleks down onto his back.

“Dude, holy shit,” Aleks gasps as he stares up at Brett with wide eyes. “I keep forgetting how fucking strong you are.”

“Eh, I’m not that strong.” Brett winks and tilts his head, raising an eyebrow at Aleks. “You still wanna ride me? Or do you want me to spread your legs and fuck you like this? How do you want it?”

“Dude, I don’t fucking know anymore, man,” Aleks chuckles and looks off to the side as he removes a hand from Brett’s neck to run back through his hair. “I wanna do fucking everything, like I don’t think there’s any way I _don’t_  want it right now.”

If it was more than one time, or one night, whatever the fuck, they could easily do everything but that’s all it’s gonna be. It’s still disappointing but Aleks is too hot for Brett to ignore at the moment and hey, maybe there’s a chance he fucks Aleks _so good_  that Aleks comes back for more.

Whether Aleks comes back or not, it’s no longer a factor in Brett fucking him. Brett physically and mentally can’t restrain himself anymore.

 

“You know what? You should ride me first.” Brett tightens his hold on Aleks again so he can switch their positions, Brett on his back, his upper body propped by the many pillows, and Aleks on top. “You said you wanted to fuck yourself on me so I’m not gonna take that away from you.”

“And with how fucking big you are, it’s probably best if I control the pace,” Aleks reasons as he reaches over to grab the lube from the nightstand.

Brett furrows his eyebrows and looks back to Aleks. “No condom?”

“I said I wanted you to fill me up. You don’t trust me?”

“No, I _do,_ I just…” Brett looks up to the ceiling and shrugs. “I dunno, I thought you were just trying to goad me into fucking you. Like you did this morning when you kept calling me daddy, remember?” He looks down to Aleks and then, suddenly, he digs his fingers into his side to tickle him. “You big _tease.”_

Aleks slams his eyes shut with a loud laugh and tenses under Brett’s fingers, releasing a long sigh of relief when Brett lets go. “And I’ve been calling you daddy since then. It can be a seduction tactic and something I actually want.”

“But it’s fucking evil and you know it.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Aleks smirks at Brett as he moves to sit on his thighs, looking down to watch the lube pour out onto the head of his cock. “You completely caved after that.”

A shuddering gasp parts Brett’s lips and his eyes close at the chill of the lube. “Y-Yeah, a hot fucking twink like you-”

 **“Hey,”** Aleks cuts him off in a firm tone, looks to Brett pointedly. “Don’t call me twink. Well… actually,” he shrugs and looks back down to watch as he slathers Brett’s length in the lube, “it’s fine if it comes from you. Just like pretty boy. Actually, it’s fucking hot coming from you.”

“Mmm, I like being an exception.”

“So what were you saying?”

“It’s not a surprise that a hot fucking twink like you, after whispering all that hot shit in my ear and touching my dick, convinced me to fuck him.”

Aleks laughs. “Knowing how stubborn you are? It’s a huge fucking accomplishment, actually.”

Is Aleks great at getting what he wants? Or is Brett’s resolve not as strong as he once thought? Or maybe, the most likely answer, is both - pit these things against each other and the outcome is obvious. No matter how much Brett tells himself this shouldn’t happen, can’t happen, this is meant to happen and there’s no stopping it.

It’ll only become a problem if Brett lets it but right now, he sees no problem in letting a hot twink fuck himself on his cock. This is just logic and common sense.

 

Brett moves his hands to Aleks’ hips so he can guide the man back onto his length. He blows out a breath when the head of his cock catches on Aleks’ hole and his pupils flickers up to stare into Aleks’ eyes with a smile. “Not to be cocky but are you sure you can take it? Wouldn’t this be the equivalent to shoving a watermelon through a pinhole?”

“If you call my ass a pinhole ever again, _you’re_ gonna be the one with blue balls.”

“After you’ve came all this way to convince me?” Brett scoffs. “I doubt it.”

“Are you willing to test that?” Aleks raises an eyebrow as he steadies Brett’s cock to line it with his hole.

Brett quickly closes his mouth and shakes his head, gaze dipping down to the hand on his cock. “No,” he says meekly.

The internal workings of Brett’s body are lined with printed circuits in wafer thin layers and if the word _‘desire’_ was engraved on each nanoangstrom of these circuits, it would still not equal one one billionth of the desire he feels for Aleks at this micro instant, watching Aleks line up his thick, thick cock with that tight, tight hole. His fingers are warmly curled around his length and his other hand seeks anchorage by pressing firmly on his chest and all Brett can do is lay back and wait for the euphoric bliss that only Aleks’ liquid heat can bring him.

And then it happens.

And it’s so much that Brett doesn’t even process the first touch.

The head of Brett’s cock breaches the rim of Aleks’ hole but it isn’t until he’s halfway inside that he finally registers the many nerves endings, that have congregated in the head of his cock, self combust and spread like wildfire throughout his highly flammable, paper thin circuits. The fire forces his mouth open and a breath escapes, allows his body to cool down enough to finally grasp the pleasure, and he releases a loud moan. His eyes fall shut in accordance with his mind’s instructions, that he needs to relax so the fire can continue to die down but Aleks’ mewl of pleasure triggers the direct line of wires leading to the motherboard, the one that houses his primal lust, and Brett opens his eyes to admire and fully drink in the beauty of the sexy minx perfectly perched on his cock.

Turns out there’s an aphrodisiac far more effective than Aleks’ mouth.

 

“Brett…” Aleks moans and presses his other hand on Brett’s chest, sinks his nails into his tan skin. “You’re so fucking  _thick_ dude, fucking hurts.”

“Do you...” Brett rolls his lips back with another moan. “Fuck, uh, do you want me to pull out?” he asks as he tightens the grip on Aleks’ hips. “I can-”

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Aleks breaths out a laugh and shakes his head. “I’m fine, just… just gimme a minute.” He blows out a breath and slams his eyes shut before he opens them wide at the ceiling. “Feel like I’m in a completely different planet.”

That works out perfectly because it allows Brett the time to stare at Aleks and admire his body in this context. As Aleks takes deep breaths to calm himself from the stretch, Brett observes the rise and fall of his chest, his slightly quivering lips, feels the scraping of his nails and the clenching of his muscles, like they’re trying to pull him in further.

The sight on top of Brett is the highest mountains, the islands in the deepest parts of the ocean, and the shadows in the moonlight - never ending beauty. The words attractive, alluring, radiant, stunning, winsome, gorgeous, handsome, beyond description.

Brett too, feels like he’s on a completely different planet and he hopes that somewhere he can find the set of words that perfectly encaptures the magnificence he sees and senses but in the meantime, until he does, he can soothe Aleks enough for Aleks to start moving and god knows how it’s gonna feel when _that_  happens.

 

He looks down to Aleks, catches the roll of his lips between his teeth, and he roams his hands upwards over Aleks’ chest. The fingers spread out and gently dig into his soft skin, grazes downwards and back up in leisurely motions. “I could just stare at you for hours,” Brett admits. “You’re…” He huffs a chuckle through his nose. “… you’re just something else, Aleks.”

Removing a hand from Brett’s chest, Aleks holds onto one of his wrists and rubs his thumb back and forth along it. “You think I’m that handsome?” he asks with genuine curiosity, no edge of teasing to be heard.

“You’re so much more than handsome,” Brett answers. “That’s why I said you’re something else, you’re just…”

_You’re beyond description._

Brett blinks a few times and rolls his lips back, taking a deep breath as he brings the other hand up to cup Aleks’ cheek. “You’re beyond description,” he says quietly.

Aleks turns his head to kiss Brett’s hand and he closes his eyes, taps his thumb back and forth against Brett’s wrist in contemplation. Brett feels no need to clear the silence because each moment is another moment for him to catalog the indescribable sight in front of him and there’s not much that can bring him out from the trance besides Aleks’ words but then, his cock is drowned in liquid heat, the liquid heat he’s been so _thirsty_  for, and his eyes fall shut and if he wasn’t so hard, so aroused, he’d be more embarrassed at the shuddering moan that falls from his lips.

“You feel so fucking good, Aleks, fuck,” Brett moans. “I can’t get over how tight you are.” He lids his eyes back open, not wanting to do a disservice of denying himself the satisfaction of watching the cocktail of pain and pleasure contort Aleks’ face - his mouth is wide open, his eyes are wrinkled shut, and the only indication of his pleasure is the rather long moan he gives.

“Can’t get over how big you are,” Aleks mirrors in a strained tone as he presses his hands back onto Brett’s chest. “Fuck, it still hurts but you fill me up so fucking much.” He rolls his lips back and opens his eyes, hums as he slowly rolls his hips up and down on Brett’s length and breathes out, drops his head to focus on crossing into the realm where pleasure resides.

Brett moans again and moves his hands back to Aleks’ hips to guide him, looks down to watch his length flicker in and out of his vision. “Good thing?” he asks.

“So fucking good,” Aleks whines. “Fuuuck, _Brett,_ I’ve wanted this for so long and now it’s happening and it’s _so good_ , you’re _so big,_ fuck, dude, why are you so big?”

“At least I uh, fit all your standards,” Brett breathes out a chuckle. “A hot guy with a big dick?”

Aleks actually manages a laugh, a stunted one, but the flash of his smile shows Brett the intentions. “You _are_  the standard. Like...” He circles his hips around to the tip of Brett’s cock and then slams back down, causes the both of them to simultaneously groan. “I’ve been trying to find guys like you, big and strong and shit like that, and they’re good but they’re not you.”

“And Geoff?”

“He was close.” Aleks nods and glances up to Brett, darts his tongue out along his lips. “But he was never gonna be you.”

Shaking his head, Brett chuckles. “Don’t say that,” he says. “I get any fucking harder and… god, I don’t even know, but you can not say things like that.”

“Things like the truth?” Aleks grins and moves a hand up to Brett’s shoulder, threads the other one through his hair while he lowers himself more on Brett’s body. “Do you really not know how much I fucking want you? How much I’ve _been_  wanting you?”

“I remember what you told me when you were drunk,” Brett recounts, grits his teeth with a low groan as Aleks quickens his hips, which has the effect of intensifying his pleasure. “I made you realize you were into guys, you had a big crush on me, how can I fucking forget all of that? You know how hard it was for me to not just take you back,” Brett chuckles, “and fuck you stupid?”

“Tell me, _daddy,”_ Aleks purrs and presses his forehead onto Brett’s, wrings his hair tighter in his fingers. “Tell me how much you’ve been wanting to fuck me.”

The way Aleks is fucking himself right now is pure divinity in motion but it’s escalating rather quickly, in the best way, because it could only be the best way. The more Brett lays here as Aleks controls the pace, his systems overheat and with their wretched, mechanical noises, they scream for something to do and it interrupts his brainwaves, places messages that he needs to _destroy,_ to _tear Aleks apart_  and put him back together by his own hands.

Electricity flies around Brett and Aleks in a powerful magnetic field, amplified by their inane chemistry, and Aleks’ signals interfere with Brett’s and demand his attention. The new signals surge through Brett’s circuits and spark _hunger, **demand,**_ and Brett swears he can hear Aleks think _give me more, daddy, please._

 

“How about I just show you, huh?” Brett wraps an arm around Aleks’ upper back, the other around his waist, and then he suddenly flips them over. Aleks is so taken aback by Brett’s hot display of strength (as do we all) and it makes up for the fact that Brett had slid out during the position change but it’s not for long.

Brett grabs Aleks’ thighs and forces his legs back, knees high up by his shoulders, and as Brett plants his hands firmly on the back of Aleks’ thighs, he stares down into his eyes to watch Aleks’ face as he swivels his hips, sheathes his entire length back inside the warmth of Aleks’ ass until their bodies are joined together again.

Aleks cries out and arches his back at the pain but then it softens into a sensual sounding mewl at the knowledge of being filled again. His eyes flutter shut, his head ascends into the clouds, and a hand threads back through his strands while the other snakes down to wrap around his own length. “Mmm, you gonna fuck me hard?” he asks. “Fuck me stupid like you’ve been wanting, huh, daddy?”

“You think I won’t?” Brett raises an eyebrow in a challenge before he proceeds to snap his hips back and forth, in and out of Aleks’ tightness, and after blowing out a breath at the sudden change in pace, he gives a loud groan. When Aleks cries out again, Brett chuckles lowly and leans forward, his breath hotly ghosting over Aleks’ smooth, wet lips, and he rests his arms on either side of Aleks, Aleks’ legs resting over his shoulders, and Brett’s hands pushing hard on the bed for purchase. “You’ve never been fucked by anybody like me before, Aleks, and I know just how to deal with you.”

Now that Brett’s closer, Aleks can move the hand in his hair to hold onto Brett’s arm and it provides much more stability, more heat to keep him situated within the confines of reality. Brett’s dark eyes burn into his face, incinerate the beginnings of any teasing expressions, any cocky grins or alluring eyes, and Aleks’ eyes blow open as his mind processes that Brett truly isn’t like any other man in the bedroom, that he _does_  know the perfect way to keep Aleks in line if he has to.

 

Brett licks the tip of his tongue up the middle of Aleks’ lips and he relishes in Aleks’ whine, laughs when Aleks chases his lips, and he shakes his head, keeps up with the swift rhythm of his hips. “Uh uh, you’ve teased me for so fucking long and I’ve been dealing with all these fucking urges to just **take you**  so I’m gonna do that and I’m gonna do whatever the **fuck**  I want with you.” He shakes his head and stares down into Aleks’ eyes. “Because you belong to me tonight.”

“Yes, _yes,_ daddy, I belong to you,” Aleks repeats and lulls his head back, presents his neck in an offering.

“You are _mine.”_

“I’m _yours,_ daddy,” Aleks whines.

“Want daddy to mark you up?”

Aleks closes his eyes and nods, an involuntary, high pitched noise escaping his mouth and it’s all Brett needs to dip his head into Aleks’ neck and latch his teeth onto the skin.

**_Mine._ **

Sucking hard on the skin, Brett growls, like a vicious predator that’s successfully caught his target and for the past few months, Aleks has been the only target his eyes have set sight on. No matter how hard he tried to move on, to forget, his mind would refuse and Brett always thought it was taunting, teasing, but now that Aleks is underneath him and moaning his name as Brett sucks a mark onto his neck, Brett realizes that his mind knew it was possible this entire time.

The only obstacle in the road to Aleks was himself - and he conquered it.

 

When he finally pulls away, Brett sees a red mark that’s indicative of all the hard work he’s made thus far and the unique imprints of his teeth line the top and bottom. His teeth, on Aleks’ skin, it’s there, it’s _his mark_  and nobody else’s and it cements Aleks as his, at least for this one night but it’s enough for Brett to start fucking Aleks with every ounce of strength he has.

It’s a full breakneck pace that shows no mercy. It’s completely animalistic and is powered by Brett’s primal nature of lust, the way he looks at Aleks is entirely carnal, and Aleks crumbles underneath Brett’s rigid stare as he releases the loudest cry into the room and the darkness of the night swallows it completely.

“Don’t stop!” Aleks whines and jerks himself off faster. “Fuck, _Brett,_ don’t ever stop, please!”

“Am I fucking you hard enough, huh?” Brett asks in an almost taunting tone, the way Aleks had taunted him earlier. He moves his mouth by Aleks’ ear and as he holds himself up with one arm, the other shoots upwards to thread tightly in his hair, forces Aleks’ head to the other side (it makes Aleks groan) so Brett can whisper into it. “Am I fucking you good enough?”

Aleks tries to nod but when he can’t, he whimpers, “yes, yes! You’re so good, Brett, I promise!”

“How good?”

“Better than anybody else, you know you’re better than anybody else!”

You know what, why isn’t Aleks submissive for him more often? He plays the role so perfectly, like he’s meant to do whatever Brett says. It’s not that he doesn’t like Aleks being bossy because that’s completely hot in its own way but he knows how Aleks is, he knows that Aleks hates to put himself in such a position so for him to roll back to this for Brett, it’s… it’s a privilege and an honor and it’s part of why he’s so close - it all adds to the incredibly hot nature of this whole damn thing, the hottest sex that Brett has ever had with the _hottest person_ Brett has ever seen.

The closer Brett gets, the more his projected soul fades in and out through the digital fabric of the datastream. When he comes, his entire being will materialize back into the mainframe of reality and the gate to their datastream will close - ideally, he’ll want Aleks to leave with him but those chances are quite slim considering this is their first time but it was a great way to show Aleks what he’s capable of if he wants more and hopefully, it’ll be the thing that shows Aleks that he’s going to need more than one time with Brett to fully experience him.

Whether he does or not, all Brett can do now is reach out to Aleks, in his analogous and digitized state, and hold onto him until the end, until he no longer can’t.

 

Their sex has corrupted the quality of the room around them, blurs everything that isn’t the two of them in a temporary haze that’ll only lift once they’re done. The room’s frequencies lose out to the frequencies they share, that they’ve sought after for so long, and the timbre of their moans and cries melodize and harmonize in an enticing symphony. The heat of their bodies reach a fever pitch as they press into each other, skin sliding and slapping together and as they become enraptured with each other, they forget where their bodies start and end and it’s not a problem at all, in fact, it’ll only be a problem when they have to pull away because it feels _so good,_ Aleks belongs to Brett and Brett belongs to Aleks and they can’t fathom breaking this new bond for even a second.

But they have to, because Brett is right on the very edge.

His pleasure is all encompassing and it hits him like the force of a glacier thundering into the sea. Brett pants harshly against Aleks’ neck, starts to moan and gasp as the pleasure heightens to sharp levels, and he needs more of Aleks, so much **more**  even though they’re as close as they can be but in their magnetic field, their datastream, Aleks senses it and he’s going to bring Brett to the other side.

The hand he had on Brett’s arm moves up into Brett’s hair and he kisses at his temple. “Come for me, daddy,” he urges. “Fill me up.”

Brett turns his head and bumps his nose against Aleks’ cheek, mumbles against his mouth, “kiss me”, and Aleks gratefully does so.

The kiss is soft and sensual, so unlike the latter half of this miracle night and it’s indicative of what they truly want with each other, that won’t see the light of day just yet. They show the most intrinsic care for each other’s mouths and they give into each other totally. It’s an equal effort, no one man overpowering the other, as is true outside the bedroom - despite the differences in age and life experience, they are more equal than anybody else.

It’s why they work so well together. Aleks is usually so guarded but he can open himself up to Brett and in turn, Brett provides a place free of judgement. And Brett, he can be so stressed and overwork himself but then Aleks will come by, smile at Brett, and suddenly everything doesn’t seem so bad. Late deadlines and employees missing their flights are not even a thought in Brett’s mind when Aleks is near.

When Aleks is near, he’s the only thing on Brett’s mind. And when Brett moans into Aleks’ mouth, presses in hard with his own, he continues to be the only thing present in his mind as he comes inside Aleks to fill him up completely.

Aleks’ moan is oh so divine, at the feeling of having somebody fill his insides with come after going so long without, and Brett can’t imagine ever going back to condoms - on paper, for obvious reasons, but he can _feel_  everything that’s happening and it’s so much and it’s the greatest pleasure he’s ever felt.

Brett pants against Aleks’ mouth, momentarily forgets how to kiss because his orgasm is _that_  mind blowing but Aleks keeps kissing him, all the way through until Brett’s hips stop with their erratic rhythm and then he settles inside Aleks, balls nestled against his ass, and he drops his head back into Aleks’ neck.

 

Aleks’ fingers card through Brett’s hair and he lets go of his cock so he can wrap that arm around Brett’s upper back to hold him close. He mouths a kiss to Brett’s head and hums contently. “You fucked me so good,” he whispers. “You did such a good job, Brett.”

“I didn’t make you come,” Brett breathes. “That’s uh,” he manages a chuckle, “kind of what the whole point of this was.”

“It’s okay,” Aleks shushes. “I don’t-”

“I’m gonna make you come.” Brett snakes a hand in between their bodies and then he sits up, lids his eyes open to watch as he jerks Aleks off. “I need you to come for me.”

Aleks rolls his lips back with a moan and reaches his hands out to grab onto Brett’s arms, giving him a nod. “I was getting close, so…” He chuckles. “... thank you, a lot.”

“I was uh, really good at fucking you, huh?” Brett raises an eyebrow and glances to Aleks. “Not just saying that?”

“Did you hear me?” Aleks chuckles again. “You fucking fucked me so good, you fucked me into submission, dude.”

Brett quirks a grin and huffs through his nose. “I’ll put that on my resume.”

“You should put down your thick dick too,” Aleks notes. “I knew it was gonna hurt but fuck, I didn’t expect that.”

“Yeah, I knew you were gonna be tight but you were like, really tight.” Brett looks down to his hand, quickens it, and he raises his eyebrows at the loud moan Aleks gives. He looks up to see Aleks’ head thrown back into the pillows and he hisses through his teeth when Aleks’ nails breach his skin.

“Almost…” Aleks breathes. “Keep going, just… oh…” he moans, “... oh god, _Brett,_ yes, fuck, fuuuck…”

His breathing rapidly picks up and intersperse with moans as his load shoots from his cock and onto his stomach, his chest, it even reaches to his neck. The pleasure forces Aleks’ mouth to stay open, until it fully subsides, and Brett is happy to watch Aleks in the ending throes of his pleasure. Already, his face glows and his features soften, making him even more beyond description than he already was.

The come drips down Brett’s hand too but luckily for Aleks, Brett isn’t as adverse to come swallowing as he is. He waits for Aleks’ eyes to squint open and as they make eye contact, Brett licks and sucks the come off his hand before he wipes it against the blankets and then he pulls out so he can better kiss each drop of come off Aleks’ body.

He mouths over his stomach, leaves kisses over the cute pudge and even dips it into his belly button just to hear Aleks gasp and then he kisses a path up his chest, licking up all the come in the wake. His tongue is slow as it laps up the mess and he even allows it to sit on his tongue so he can savor Aleks’ taste because despite what he might’ve told Aleks, he loves the taste of it.

 

Aleks watches Brett with lidded eyes as he runs his fingers back through his hair and then he rests his head back onto the pillow with a hum when Brett mouths his way to his neck. After cleaning the spots of come off Aleks’ neck, he sucks onto the hickey he created, for a few moments, before he finally sits up on his knees.

“You fucking licked all that shit up, dude?” Aleks furrows his eyebrows in mixed curiosity and confusion.

“What, like it’s hard?” Brett scoffs and rests his hands on Aleks’ knees.

“Did you have to fucking pull out while you did it?” Aleks frowns.

Brett laughs and raises an eyebrow. “Are you one of those guys who hates it when other guys pull out quick?”

“I just hate feeling empty.” Aleks grimaces and allows his legs to finally fall to the bed, closing his eyes with a hiss. “Fuck, and you fucking bent me in half dude. I’m gonna be so sore tomorrow.”

“Oh my god, you goaded me into fucking you hard, don’t even start.” Brett rolls his eyes and crawls over to Aleks’ side to slip under the covers. “You were like, _‘ooh, daddy,”_ he mocks in a high pitched voice, “ _‘please, fuck me hard’,_ and then I did, I did exactly what you asked for-”

“I’m just saying! Don’t be a dick!” Aleks reaches his hand back to hit Brett’s chest and then he turns around on his side to face him. “Otherwise I’m not gonna cuddle with you.”

“Oh shit, you wanna cuddle?” Brett asks.

Aleks blinks a few times and looks down to the empty space between them, shaking his head. “Uh, n-no, you don’t even-”

“Nooo, cuddling is nice.” Brett smiles and turns onto his back, holds the covers open for Aleks. “Get over here.”

Uh, cuddle a super hot blonde twink in his arms until they fall asleep? Do you know how stupid Brett would be to say no to that? Then again, Brett’s been putting off fucking Aleks for awhile and they could’ve done it a lot sooner but it’s like Aleks said… or he said… maybe both, but it’s better late than never. Brett knows better than to ever put off anything like this ever again though. Or maybe he should, because the wait made it so worth it and why isn’t there an instruction manual for this too? Brett’s too old for this shit.

 

Aleks’ shoulders slump in relaxation and a smile slowly graces his face. “Okay, for sure. Just let me go turn off the lights,” he says as he makes it to the edge of the bed.

Brett proceeds to watch Aleks’ legs crumble underneath him and his eyes widen at the _thud._ He crawls over and looks down to Aleks lying on the floor, raising an eyebrow. “Aleks? You good, dude?”

“I don’t think I’m in the position to walk anywhere right now.” Aleks closes his eyes and grunts as he sits up on his knees, pulls himself back onto the bed. “Can you get the lights for me?”

“Sure, bro, just relax and don’t try to fall over again or anything, okay?” Brett chuckles and climbs out of the bed with ease to turn off the lights. Brett comes back to the bed and lies on his back underneath the covers, smiles when Aleks kisses his cheek.

“Just so you know?” Aleks murmurs as he rests his head on Brett’s shoulder. “You fucked the energy out of me. I’m like, close to calling it a night and going to sleep.” He throws an arm around Brett’s chest and then nuzzles his face into his neck, humming as the safe comfort blankets his entire body.

“That’s fine.” Brett looks down at Aleks as he wraps an arm around his shoulder, brings up the other hand to gently rest on the arm over his chest. “Just let me know and I’ll put you back in your-”

“I wanna sleep with you.” Aleks pulls his head away to look up at Brett, his eyes squinted. “Is that okay?”

Brett blinks a few times in reflection, that Aleks actually wants to sleep with him, and he huffs a fond breath through his nose before he nods. “Of course,” he says softly. “Besides, we slept together last night so uh, we already did it once. Twice isn’t going to hurt.”

_Just like us having sex with each other._

Aleks kisses Brett’s cheek and then he returns his head to its resting place. He closes his eyes and slides a leg in between Brett’s, smiles when Brett gently squeezes his legs against his in an effort to be closer. “Thank you,” Aleks murmurs. “For everything tonight.”

“All I did was fuck you, to be fair.”

“Fucked me real good.” Aleks’ smile shifts into a smirk. “And then you took care of me afterwards. Didn’t have to do that.”

“I always take care of you, you know that.”

“Still.” Aleks shrugs. “I wouldn’t have minded if you didn’t. But it means a lot that you did.”

“I’d do anything for you, Aleks,” Brett says as he watches his fingers dance along Aleks’ arm. “You know I would.”

“I know…” Aleks kisses his neck. “Good night, Brett.”

Brett whispers, “good night, Aleks”, and looks down to the young blonde peacefully cuddling him - the sight of never ending beauty.

He looks out to the window, observes the faint glow of distant starlight once more along with the moon. The moon comes and goes whenever it pleases but the stars in the night sky are always there. No matter what kind of night, that never changes - the one constant are the stars. The stars will always be there, always waiting on the moon no matter what.

Brett looks back down to Aleks, the moon to his stars, and breathes in deeply, rests his head back on the pillow so he can continue to watch Aleks in his most peaceful state of slumber.

 

Until tonight, Brett didn’t realize how painfully dim the world was but after intertwining with Aleks in perfectly hot symmetry, he’s fully aware of the electricity they now bring - the electricity that lights up the world. Colors that were so dull before are so much more vibrant, everybody’s motions are so much more fluid, and life is so much better now.

Brett huffs a breath through his nose and cards his fingers back through Aleks’ soft hair. The corners of his lips quirk up when a smile flashes over Aleks’ face as he presses himself closer, because they somehow weren’t already as close as they can. In this moment, looking at Aleks, Brett comes to an easy realization.

_I don’t ever want to go back to the way things were._


	25. Lost In The Datastream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett make the best of their last day together before going their own separate ways…
> 
> ... it's only for 2 weeks, but when you've been living with somebody and going to work with them for about 3 months, that's a long time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guess what! It's a double upload week, isn't that EXCITING?
> 
> Come back Friday for Chapter 26~

**** **July 9th, 2017**

 

“Aleks, wake up.”

Aleks’ eyes lid open. At first, his vision is blurry so he blinks a few times in the hopes the world around him will become much more clear and after he does so, he sees Brett smiling down at him with the softest expression that puts Aleks at ease.

His eyes are crinkled open and he seems as tired as Aleks is, but he’s still mind blowingly beautiful. Aleks can see the individual pores of his face up close like this, the most subtle of wrinkles, and his neatly manicured beard. Every little nuance and unique feature comes together to create _Brett_  and Brett is the most gorgeous man that Aleks has ever seen.

 

Brett yawns, gently scratches at the back of Aleks’ head, and Aleks hums softly at the soothing scratches before he leans in to kiss Brett’s jaw. He rests his head back onto his shoulder and nuzzles his nose against his neck in an effort to feel more of his body heat.

“Are you awake?” Brett chuckles.

“Mmhm,” Aleks mumbles. “Just don’t wanna get out of bed.”

“We have to,” Brett sighs. “Or you do, anyways. You gotta head back to LA today. You got like, a 2 PM flight, dude.”

“So your plan was to fuck and leave me?”

Brett snorts and shakes his head, leans in to kiss the top of Aleks’. “You’re the one that convinced me to fuck you last night,” he reminds him. “Sober too, by the way. Glad it’s something we can actually remember.”

Aleks grins and takes his leg out from between Brett’s so he can move to straddle his body and his grin widens when Brett immediately holds onto his hips. “Mmm, you did fuck me last night, didn’t you?” He tilts his head and looks down into Brett’s eyes. “Fucked me good too.”

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Brett asks as he runs his hands up and down Aleks’ sides. “I went at it pretty hard.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sore as fuck,” Aleks replies. “You killed my ass, dude.”

“You wanted it hard,” Brett says with an apologetic smile. “I gave you what you wanted, right?”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing that you killed my ass.”

“Then I no longer feel bad.”

The soreness is definitely something Aleks felt when he was stirring awake earlier but it lost out to the overwhelmingly amazing sensation of Brett’s comforting body heat. It doesn’t mean Aleks doesn’t notice it but it’s more of an underlying dull pain that increases or decreases with his movements. No matter how prominent the pain is, however, it’s gonna be a few days until he lets somebody in his ass again (unless Brett wants another round because like, he’d do whatever that man wants).

Aleks from 2013 would be super proud of him though. It was his dream for Brett to destroy his ass, fuck, it still is - and Aleks accomplished that last night.

 

Last night, Brett fucked him. Hard. And he fucked Aleks so hard that Aleks had no choice but to just lie there and _take it_  and he fucking loved it. He loved every single second of Brett’s cock pushing in and out, every single dirty word that left Brett’s mouth, every single fucking thing that Brett made him feel, fuck, he was _entirely_ Brett’s.

And last night, they belonged to each other - no person, no other wordly force could’ve separated them. There was no daytime or nighttime, no past or future, no fear or anxiety, just the both of their bodies hotly pressing into each other, igniting the most electrifying pleasure that the either of them has ever experienced.

… and now Brett’s going to be gone for 2 weeks? They’re supposed to just… _move on?_

 

“Uh, are you sure you have to stay in Austin?” Aleks asks.

“It’s better to stay in Austin and head straight to the Overwatch World Cup instead of flying back to LA, only to take another flight the next day. It’s money and time saved,” Brett explains.

Aleks huffs through his nose and sits up fully on Brett’s body. “Okay… well uh, are we doing anything today?” he asks as he raises his arms up above his head to stretch them out, his entire body displaying itself on Brett’s.

Brett purses his lips together as his eyes openly scan Aleks’ naked body. “Uh… nothing uh, nothing in particular,” he mumbles. “We’ve pretty much uh… performed our convention duties.”

“You wanna do something today?” Aleks looks down to Brett and rests his hands on top his pecs. “Before we part ways forever?”

Brett laughs and takes his hands off Aleks’ hips so he can gently grab his wrists. “I’m only gonna be gone for 2 weeks, dude,” he assures him, rubbing his thumbs back and forth along his wrists to aid in the assurement. “And then I’ll be back to bother you with my nasally voice again.”

“I think it’s hot,” Aleks mumbles. “And I know it’s only 2 weeks but it’s gonna be a long 2 weeks without you. We’ve like…” He smiles and shrugs, looks down to their hands. “We’ve been spending so much time together since I moved in and suddenly, we’re gonna be apart. It’s just weird.”

They’ve been living together and working together nearly nonstop for a little over 3 months and suddenly, Brett’s gone. Just for 2 weeks, which isn’t too long in the grand scheme of things but in the moment, that’s a great deal of time to give away! What’s Aleks supposed to do with himself in that time? Work? Play video games? Attempt to stream?

He misses Brett already. He thinks he’s kind of pathetic for it.

 

Brett breathes in deeply and upon the exhale, a smile graces his face. He tilts his head and brings a hand up to cup Aleks’ cheek to coax Aleks’ attention towards him. “Of course we can do something today. Want it to be just you and me?”

Aleks’ stomach does a flip and when it settles back down, hundreds of butterflies are born and flutter all around. They lift up through his body and pull up the corners of his lips to make him smile, forces him to nod. “Yeah, do you mind?”

“Nope.” Brett shakes his head. “Anything you wanna do in particular?”

“Breakfast, for sure.”

“And after that, if there’s time?”

“... I don’t know.” Aleks shrugs. “I’ll think of it in the shower. I’m gonna do that and we can head out.”

He begins the quick process of climbing off Brett’s lap but Brett wraps his arms around his waist to keep him on his body. When Brett seats himself against the headboard, Aleks shifts around to more comfortably straddle his lap and he wraps his arms around his neck.

“Can I help you?” Aleks asks with a grin.

Brett answers with “perhaps”, and looks down to Aleks’ lips. “Can I trouble you for one more kiss before you leave?”

Aleks smirks and hitches himself closer to Brett’s body, tells Brett, “you’re not troubling me at all”, before he moves his head forward to easily seal their lips in another kiss - and they’ve kissed so many times at this point that he can’t quantify it but he’s glad they’ve reached that point with each other.

Their kisses are becoming more familiar with each one they share. It’s no longer this new, mind blowing thing but it’s still an exciting shock that jump starts Aleks’ heart and pumps the adrenaline through his veins. It’s a rather simple kiss they’re sharing right now but it doesn’t have to be this extravagant, intricate action for it to be beautiful - the finer things in life often are the most simple, like taking a walk under the glow of moonlight or pausing to admire the flowers.

Aleks woke up that morning to feel soft warmth encasing him and Brett’s lips are the same way. They kiss and he feels safe and he chases more of that, presses in just a smidge harder to silently ask for control and Brett gives that to him, along with more of the security Aleks was looking for. Aleks sucks onto Brett’s bottom lip before he slides his tongue inside, quickly swipes through the cavern of Brett’s mouth and then it slides back out to end the kiss - it’s not something Aleks wants to do but they can’t spend the whole day kissing each other.

Actually, they could totally spend the whole day kissing each other but not this particular one. It’s all going to go back to normal between them when they head back to LA anyways - what they do in Texas, stays in Texas and what they do in this room, stays in this room.

 

Aleks sighs and pats Brett’s cheek before climbing off his lap. “Alright, I gotta go.”

“Gotta admit, I’m really missing your lips already.”

A lightbulb pops over Aleks’ head right as he makes it back onto the floor (his legs don’t crumble underneath him this time) and he turns to Brett with a grin. “I mean, you can fit more than one person in that shower. You can do more than just wash up too.” He raises an eyebrow and after swiftly turning on his heel, he makes his way into the bathroom and hopes to god that Brett will take the hint.

He even takes his sweet time getting everything together. He makes sure to pick out the fluffiest towel, adjusts the rug on the floor for maximum uh… soakage (?), and then he fiddles with the shower knob to make sure the temperature is at the pinnacle of perfection. Aleks holds his hand out under the faucet and leans his head back to look at the door when he hears footsteps but after a minute, nothing happens and with an eye roll, he accepts the fact that Brett isn’t going to join him and he steps into the shower, completely alone.

Really, what was he expecting? It was a one night stand - that’s all it’ll be between them. They won’t ever speak of that night again and once they leave this hotel room, Brett will probably cease any conversation about that night. At the very least, Aleks got to figure out what Brett is like in bed and he’s a fucking _god._

_… what if I don’t find anybody else like - Brett?_

 

“You don’t think I’d let you shower alone, right?” Brett murmurs into his ear as he grabs onto Aleks’ hips. “Sorry, had to send out some texts.” He then trails a slow line of soft kisses all along the side of Aleks’ neck and Aleks’ eyes lid shut so he can focus on the feather-light touches.

“Mmm, of course not,” he mumbles. “Just so you know though, if you wanna fuck-”

“Nope,” Brett mumbles against his skin. He kisses to Aleks’ ear and brings a hand upwards to gently grab Aleks’ chin and Aleks reads Brett’s mind by turning his head slightly for Brett’s lips to hover by his and as Brett’s breath ghosts over Aleks’ lips, he whispers, “I just wanna be with you.”

Their lips press together again and Aleks moans softly into Brett’s mouth. He allows Brett to control the kiss this time but this one, much like their first, is simple. He doesn’t bite or suck, just kisses and kisses and kisses, and Aleks happily kisses and kisses and kisses back. Submitting for anybody else is such a weird concept to him but submitting to Brett makes so much sense so he’s happy to let Brett do whatever he pleases.

Brett’s lips linger on Aleks’ and right as their lips pull apart, he goes in for one more kiss before totally ending it. “Wanna grab the shampoo for me?” he asks quietly and Aleks hands it to him without a word.

Brett has to let go of Aleks so he can squeeze the contents of the vanilla shampoo into his hands and Aleks misses the feeling of his warm hands but then Brett is massaging the shampoo into his hair and his fingers are like magic, the way they scratch his scalp and as Aleks’ eyes flutter shut, his mouth widens into a smile.

“I really like your hands, dude,” Aleks says.

“And if last night is any indication, you like my dick too,” Brett says with all the casualness of talking about groceries. “Was it as good for you as it was for me, by the way?”

Was Brett really the one that brought up the events of last night just now? He’s not going to act like it never happened, that it was some big mistake they should’ve never done? Because all of the events that led up to that night made it seem like this is something he would do, god forbid he does anything that’s not “professional” and puts the workplace at supposed risk…

… but he seems fine with it. If he didn’t, why would he even be showering with Aleks right now?

 

It takes a few moments for Aleks to answer as he thinks about that and in that time, Brett tilts his head under the spray to wash off the shampoo. When Aleks’ head reclines up again, he backs up to press his ass right against Brett’s dick and reaches forward for the conditioner. “Best sex I’ve ever had, if we’re being honest,” he admits as he hands Brett the bottle.

“Thought you said you were sore?” Brett asks as he looks down between them, closing his eyes with a hum as Aleks swivels his hips back and forth. “Aleks…”

“What’s up?” Aleks grins and looks back to Brett with an almost challenging glint in his eyes. “What did you think of last night, by the way?”

Brett presses his lips together and shakes his head, breathing in deep through his nose as he squeezes the conditioner into his hands. “You’re the biggest fucking tease I know,” he mumbles as he threads his fingers back into Aleks’ hair, scratching harder at his scalp. “But it was pretty awesome yeah. And since you were honest, I’ll go ahead and say it was the best sex I’ve ever had too.”

“Was I everything you’ve ever dreamed of?” Aleks asks as he sets his hands on the tiled walls, arching his back to press his ass against Brett again. “Bet you’re glad you fucked me stupid like you’ve been wanting, huh?”

“Okay, you said you were sore, you _can not_  do this to me,” Brett warns as he sends a burning stare into the back of Aleks’ head.

“It’s fun though, teasing you,” Aleks says. “There’s like, a unique kind of fun that comes with getting you all hot and bothered.”

He riles Brett up and in return, Brett fucks him hard into the bed and gives him mind blowing sex. That’s the most fun Aleks has had with _anybody_  during sex, not just sex but his entire life. Brett was fucking him like he had something to prove and if he wanted to prove that Aleks could never find somebody who fucks as good as him, then he succeeded and left no room for doubt.

 

“You know,” Brett shakes his head, “I came into the shower so I could touch your body and wash your hair for you, because I’m a nice guy like that, but I’m starting to think you have some ulterior motives,” he points out as he pushes Aleks’ head back under the stream of water to rinse his hair once more before he pulls his head back up.

“I told you, Brett, I have a sore ass. There’s no way I can do anything like that again,” Aleks chuckles and runs his fingers back through his hair. “Well, actually,” he shrugs, “I can make an exception for you.”

“Hmm.” Brett nods and purses his lips. “An exception, huh?”

“You fucked me so good last night that I’m willing to have a completely wrecked ass just for another round of awesome sex.”

Brett laughs loudly and claps his hands, rubbing them together. “You are _ridiculous,_ you’re not gonna be able to handle that.”

“So you don’t wanna fuck me again?”

“I didn’t say-”

“But you’d be such a good daddy-”

 _“Aleksandr,_ don’t start with-”

“I know that daddy wants to fuck me-”

“I told you that I know how to deal with you-”

“Can you, though?” Aleks asks, his grin spreading across his face to show off his teeth. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, like-” He whines and his grin instantly falters when Brett grabs his shoulders to press him hard against the tiles.

“You said it yourself that I fucked you into submission,” Brett murmurs against his ear. He swipes his tongue along his lips and looks down to Aleks’ ass, giving it a spank that makes Aleks cry out, more in surprise and not at the pain. “You don’t think I can do it again, Aleks? Huh?”

“Fuck me, please,” Aleks breathes. “You’ve already fucked me into submission, you don’t-”

“Oh, baby, I feel like I do,” Brett says as he slips his hand around to grab Aleks’ neck from the front. It clamps over his throat, he squeezes gently, and he grins when he hears a gasp part open Aleks’ lips.

“Daddy,” Aleks gasps. “Please-”

“Please what?” Brett presses his other hand on the line of Aleks’ back and moves it down his spine, tantalizingly slow. “Tell daddy what you need from him.”

No, _fuck no,_ he’s not begging. Brett can fuck Aleks into submission and contort him into whatever fucking position he wants, force him to do the goddamn splits if he has to, but Aleks is _not_  begging. He doesn’t beg. That’s not in his nature - he will _not_  beg. Brett might be a sex god but it doesn’t fucking matter how high of a status he’s reached in Aleks’ head because Aleks refuses to do that for anybody.

Aleks swallows and closes his eyes. “N-No, Brett-”

“I’m **daddy** ,” Brett reminds him in a growl before he spanks him again. “You started this, don’t back out.”

“Don’t make me beg, daddy,” Aleks pleads. _“Please,_ I fucking hate-”

“I don’t _care,”_ Brett pushes two fingers into Aleks’ hole, “how much you hate begging, if you want daddy to fuck you like you want so much, you’re going to beg for it so don’t make me tell you again.” He squeezes Aleks’ throat harder and nips at his neck before he growls into his ear again. “ **Beg.** ”

You know what? Maybe Brett _has_ reached a high enough status for Aleks to beg for him. He’s unlocked a new tier in Aleks’ head and in this highly unachievable tier that only Brett has reached, it allows one token to redeem for begging - but only once! Aleks will do it this one time but never again. And he’s only doing it because it means Brett will fuck him good again and god, it’s worth it.

 

Aleks throws his head back onto Brett’s shoulder with a loud whine and pushes onto his fingers, swiveling his hips around to get them in as deep as possible. “I _need_  you to fuck me, daddy, so bad,” he whimpers. “Nobody fucks me like you do, daddy, I don’t think they ever _will-”_

“That’s right, good boy,” Brett praises as he curls his fingers inside, crooking them back and forth. “Because you belong to me, right?”

Aleks mouth widens into a silent scream and a stunted cry pierces through the silence before it devolves into another whimper. “Y-yes, daddy-”

“And your ass? That belongs to me too, right?”

“Yes.” Aleks nods. “It’s yours, you can do whatever you want with it, just fuck me, daddy, _please.”_

“God, you beg so fucking good,” Brett chuckles. “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard, I’m not even kidding.”

“So daddy’s gonna fuck me now?” Aleks asks hopefully. “Thank you so much-”

“Eh, we don’t need to make you more sore.” Brett shrugs and lets go of Aleks’ throat as he pulls his fingers out of his ass. “This was fun though.”

Aleks blinks his eyes open and then he blinks a few more times, like he’s trying to make sure the reality he’s in is clear and that Brett really isn’t gonna fuck him, _after he made me beg like a fucking bitch for it?!?_ He turns his head to look at Brett like he just committed the worst sin in the world and he asks, “what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m gonna let you shower, finish off, and then we can get dressed and leave.” Brett smiles innocently and bats his eyelashes. “It sucks being teased, huh?”

Aleks’ jaw drops and he stares at Brett agape, trying to form the best selection of words to tell Brett how evil he is and how clearly _not_ justified he is but he is justified, he really is, and it’s why Aleks just stands there like a fucking idiot while Brett leaves the shower unscathed.

“I told you that I knew how to deal with you!” Brett calls out before closing the bathroom door.

Aleks closes his mouth and presses his lips together, shaking his head to himself before he slams the shower door back shut. “Fucking dick,” he mumbles before grabbing the body wash.

 

Brett’s so glad that Aleks still wants his dick… hmm. Aleks _swears_  he’s thought that before. Well, he’s going to get Brett back for this one day. He doesn’t know when but Aleks will _not_ forget about this.

For now, he needs to stop thinking about it. Instead, he needs to think about getting rid of this hard on.

* * *

 

 

Aleks and Brett decide to head to Alta Cafe for breakfast and the fact that it’s within very short walking distance was the main motivator but now that they’re sat outside on the patio, they don’t really wanna leave.

Looking out into the river, Aleks takes a sip of his mimosa and then sets it back down on the table before he crosses his arms on top.

There’s not too many people here and Aleks is thankful for the serenity the quietness provides. It allows him to fully appreciate the sights of the lively green trees threading along the sparkling river, reflecting the light blue of the clear skies. The view is astonishingly gorgeous but when Aleks looks to the man sitting across from him, he finds a sight that’s more worth his gaze.

Brett’s gazing into the river too and it allows Aleks the moment to bathe in his rugged beauty. Aleks wishes he wouldn’t wear that fucking baseball hat (a dark blue color) because he quite likes his hairline - it gives into the whole daddy thing that Brett’s the poster boy of. It does nothing to detract from his looks because Brett makes anything look good. Apart from that, Aleks has no complaints.

The first few buttons of his dark blue button up shirt are undone to show off his chest hair, dark brown over natural tan skin, and he’s rolled up his sleeves to show off those thick arms, the thickest part of his body that isn’t his dick. Those arms aren’t just for show either - Brett’s as strong as he looks and Aleks has seen it first hand, and experienced it, but last night was the first time he got to experience it in the most preferable context.

Aleks takes another sip of his mimosa as he trails his eyes back to Brett’s face, the most well-rounded mix of chiseled and full. His jawline is sculpted but his cheeks are so soft, he has the softest, brown eyes that Aleks has ever looked into and it’s amazing, Aleks thinks, how Brett is basically the most alpha an alpha male can get but is the biggest teddy bear in the world. He’s the most wonderful conglomeration of personality traits and there’s a few flaws, sure, he can be too defensive sometimes but he makes up for it with every fucking thing else.

 

Brett looks back to Aleks and Aleks looks away instantly to his grilled cheese, quickly swiping his hand forward to grab his food and almost knocks over his mimosa in the process but thankfully, his other hand saves it at the last moment. Like they need to repeat that part of his past...

_The entire table is talking about some office bullshit, Aleks doesn’t know because he’s not a part of Machinima but it does let him stare off at Brett and admire him and his manliness. He’s… god, he’s such a man. Aleks doesn’t think he’s ever seen anybody as manly as Brett in his life and it’s overwhelming, such manly beauty. It legit takes his breath away - literally breath taking. Aleks wishes Brett could be his._

_And then Brett laughs and it’s the most wonderful sound in the world. Aleks smiles and flips his hair back when his bangs fall in front of his eyes but then Brett looks over at him, catches him, and Aleks scrambles to avert his eyes. He shifts on his chair and swings his hand forward to grab his burger and in the process, he knocks over his Coke because fuck him, right?_

_“Should I ask the waitress for a sippy cup?” Joel asks with a small grin as he looks to the spill. “You good, Aleks?”_

_“Hey, leave him alone,” Brett defends as he grabs his napkins to dab at the wetness on Aleks’ thighs. “It’s his first time going out to eat with us, he’s just nervous.”_

_“Yeah, uh, you guys got it made,” Aleks chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. “It’s uh, overwhelming.”_

Aleks glad he’s not crushing on Brett like that anymore. He’s thankful it’s only a sexual attraction, one that actually _isn’t_  unrequited but he still doesn’t wanna be caught staring like some loser in love.

 

“If you’re done eating, I can grab the check,” Brett offers.

“Yeah, totally.” Aleks nods and then finishes off his grilled cheese.

Their server comes by at just the right moment and Brett waves her over with a polite “excuse me!”

“What’s up?” she asks.

“Can we have the check, please?” Brett asks.

“Sure thing, together or separate?”

Aleks opens his mouth to tell her it’s separate but Brett replies with “together, please and thank you” before he has the chance to say it.

Hey, he won’t complain about free food. He just shrugs and sits back in his seat, grabbing his mimosa to take another sip. “So uh, pretty successful RTX, I’d say.”

“I’d agree with that,” Brett says as he crosses his arms behind his head, crossing a leg over the other. “We got to film some cool stuff, saw some cool stuff, and we did some cool stuff. All around, a cool week.”

They got to _do_  cool stuff too. Like _each other._ But that doesn’t exactly sound like a good conversation for breakfast, at least not in public when there’s people besides them around. It didn’t stop them from talking about blowjobs at the beach but then, they weren’t incredibly close to anybody.

 

“What’re the plans for the future?” Aleks asks. “Conventions wise?”

Maybe the next convention they go to, Aleks can get back at Brett for that sin he committed this morning… he’s mostly over it now, only because Brett is so handsome that he can get away with doing stuff like that, making Aleks beg for nothing in return, but this is a dangerous game and Aleks isn’t going to lose. Brett only _thinks_  Aleks is going to let this go but rest assured, Aleks always gets his man.

“Ooh boy, this fall is going to be busy.” Brett blows out a breath and adjusts the bill of his baseball cap before he looks back to the river. “I know in August, I gotta leave for Gamescom in Germany. They asked for you too but, you know-”

“I’m still not allowed in other countries,” Aleks sighs.

“You _need_  to do your citizenship, dude,” Brett chuckles and uncrosses his legs so he can gently kick at Aleks’ shoe. “I can’t constantly be going to these other countries by myself. I mean, I can, but it’s not as fun without you.”

Aleks kicks back and he grins when Brett repeats the action. While their feet battle each other under the table, they maintain a relatively normal conversation above it.

“It’s a lot harder than you think, dawg,” Aleks tells him. “Trust me, I wish I could go with you.”

“Uh huh.” Brett narrows his eyes. “You want me to suffer.”

_Says the dude who left me to suffer in the shower this morning._

“You’re putting words in my mouth but sure, I totally want you to suffer. What else besides Gamescom?”

“PAX West,” Brett answers. “It’ll probably suck but we’ll meet fans and that’s always nice.”

“Just as long as they don’t ask you any cringe questions.”

“Oh yeah, dude, a fan fucking asked me what it was like to kiss you at the Let’s Play panel,” Brett laughs. “I mean, hey, I’m glad our kissing is fondly remembered but I’d rather they keep it to like, their Tumblrs, you know?”

“What did you say?” Aleks asks with a grin. “You tell them it was good? Because it was.”

“Oh yeah, for sure.” Brett nods. “But like, that was before you and I fucked so I just stammered like an idiot and said it was nice, you tasted nice, and I’m glad you didn’t eat my face off.”

“I tasted nice?”

“Yeah, it was like uh… vanilla.”

“You remembered that?”

“Are you really asking me if I remembered our first kiss?”

“It’s just such a small detail-”

“Not really. You don’t remember how I tasted?”

Aleks’ face tints red and his foot falls limp, which allows Brett to conquer it and win their war. He looks to Brett and then looks down to the table, pressing his finger into the wooden top to trace nondescript patterns. “You tasted like mint and chocolate,” he mumbles. “It was pretty lit.”

“I rest my case,” Brett chuckles and lovingly taps at Aleks’ shoe before he rests both of his feet on the bar of his chair. “So… uh, yeah. PAX stuff. Then uh, towards the end of September, we have the Let’s Play Reunion-”

“Noooo,” Aleks whines. “Is it too late to back out?”

“We are, unfortunately, contractually obligated,” Brett hisses through his teeth. “If it helps, I got us a room together so uh, we have each other?”

Aleks shrugs. “That kind of helps.”

“Who knows, it might just be a blast.”

“And it might just be a disaster.”

“Cow Chop is a disaster.”

“But we’re a fun disaster."

“I swear, sometimes you just like to be difficult,” Brett chuckles and takes his foot off the bar so he can push up one of the leg holes to Aleks’ jeans.

“But _you_ know all about how to deal with it.” Aleks raises a pointed eyebrow and quickly pushes down on Brett’s foot. “Isn’t that right?”

Brett winks and grins. “I taught you a good lesson this morning.”

What the fuck kind of lesson was that! … okay, so Aleks knows that teasing is a totally evil thing to do but it’s not like he was gonna tease Brett for long! As soon as Brett caved, he was gonna let Brett fuck him in that shower for as long as he wanted but then Brett just did… the opposite! What exactly did he accomplish with that besides leaving the both of them with blue balls?

Brett at least referenced this morning so it lets Aleks know that he still doesn’t mind what they did last night. This whole breakfast, in fact, has been very eye opening to Aleks - purely because Brett has opened his eyes. Has he finally realized that fucking Aleks’ sweet ass isn’t the end of the world and he should indulge himself in it more often?

But then he would’ve fucked Aleks this morning. He’s a huge dick.

_I wish he’d fuck me with his huge dick again._

 

The server comes back to the table with one check and immediately sets it down in front of Brett. “Here you are!” she chimes. “Take your time, there’s no rush, and you two enjoy the rest of your morning!”

“Thank you, you as well!” Brett tells her as he reaches into his shorts to take out his wallet.

Aleks looks off to the server and blinks a few times in wonderment before he looks back to Brett. “Dude, did you see that?”

“See what?” Brett replies while taking out cash.

“She just fucking assumed you were the top.”

“No, it’s because I was the one that asked for the check.”

“She could’ve put it down in the middle.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Brett sets the cash on top of the check, along with a nice tip - because why would he give anything less than 25%? “Even if that were the case, it’s not like she’d be wrong.”

Aleks blinks wildly as he watches Brett hop off the chair and he quickly finishes off the rest of his mimosa before he joins Brett back onto the patio. “Not like she’d be _wrong?”_

“You know why I think you’re upset, Aleks?” Brett wraps an arm around his shoulder and looks over to his face. “You’re upset because I out topped you last night _and_  this morning.”

“Dude, I can be a fucking top-”

“Hey, I’m not doubting you’re a good top when you wanna be,” Brett chuckles and holds up his other hand in defense. “But I mean, compared to me?” He raises an eyebrow and rests the hand on his chest. “Anybody is gonna look at us and pick me out as the top. The whole world works off stereotypes, Aleks.”

Ugh! Why does Brett have to be so right all the time, it’s annoying! Besides the whole _“I can never fuck you because it’s not professional or whatever”_ thing, he’s always right and it’s like, why can’t Aleks be right for once, you know?

 

“Come on, buddy.” Brett leads Aleks back into the cafe building so they can walk back to the front. “We need to get back to our room and get your things gathered up so you can go home.”

Despite everything they’ve discussed today and how much of a (hot) dick Brett has been, Aleks feels more at home with Brett’s arm around him. It was the same this morning as well, when he was snuggled to Brett’s side with their legs near entwined, both of Brett’s arms holding onto him. He was so safe and secure and it felt like nothing in the world could ever hurt him, not with Brett by his side.

Brett is Aleks’ home, and he isn’t prepared to leave it.

* * *

 

 

There’s a rather simple explanation for why Brett didn’t fuck Aleks this morning.

One might think he’s a stupid fucking idiot for not taking advantage of his opportunity to fuck Aleks one last time before they part ways but he did it with good reason. He had to be responsible, after all, and Aleks will thank him for it eventually.

It seems like the most obvious thing in the world, doesn’t it? Fucking a hot blonde twink who’s begging their heart out? Aleks had begged so good for it too, the best that Brett has heard from men _and_  women, but he’s not going to fuck Aleks’ sore ass just because Aleks says he can take it. He won’t risk making that pain worse.

But he’ll let Aleks think that he didn’t fuck him just to get back at Aleks for his teasing ways.

It also opens the door to future opportunities for them to have sex - that it doesn’t have to be just that one night or while they’re in Texas, that they can extend this new thing back into LA if Aleks wishes, though Brett’s just clinging onto hope for that one.

As for what Brett wishes? He wishes they could be something more than just friends who occasionally fuck each other (even that isn't a sure thing) but that’s the highest status achievable with Aleks at the moment so Brett is gonna go right for it. How hard can it be to set aside his feelings? He's been doing it for a few months, what's a few more gonna do?

 

They took a small walk around the city after breakfast, window shopping and talking to each other about everything and nothing like they always do - video ideas, what’s happening in the news, new developments in their life that don’t have to do with fucking each other, etc. They went into a clothing store and the sales assistant there thought Brett was Aleks’ dad. That was cool…

_“Can I help you guys find anything today?” she asks with a bright smile. “It’s a father and son kind of day, huh?”_

_Brett chuckles and shakes his head. “Oh, I’m not-”_

_“Something like that.” Aleks winks. “But we’re just looking, thanks.”_

_The sales assistant walks away to leave Brett and Aleks to their own devices and Brett looks to Aleks with squinted eyes as Aleks walks over to a rack. “Something like that?” Brett repeats, walking to Aleks’ side._

_“You_ **_are_ ** _kind of my daddy.” Aleks grins and gives Brett a knowing look before he takes the jacket from the rack to inspect it._

Next time Aleks calls Brett “daddy” in public, they’re going to get in serious trouble. Aleks for the obvious and Brett for having to try his best to conceal a hard on in public.

He remembers when Aleks would call him “daddy” and have no idea of the effect it has on him. Brett can’t really say those were better times because he wasn’t fucking Aleks back then and _oh my god, I can’t believe I fucked him last night,_ they actually fucked each other and the whole world didn’t end!

And now Brett’s going to be away from Aleks for 2 whole weeks. It’s fitting, Brett thinks, that he finally fucks Aleks and now they’re being taken away from each other.

 

They’re back in their hotel room and Aleks is just about done with gathering his things together so he can take a Lyft to the airport with James, Joe, and Trevor - no Asher, because he missed his fucking flight to Texas, of course he did. He’s lucky that Joe and Trevor are here to work the cameras because… nevermind, he’s not going to think about Asher when Aleks is literally about to leave him.

For two weeks.

_Two. Whole. Weeks._

Brett’s body falls with his despondent and he rests his arms on top of his spread legs, letting them hang as his upper body hunches over from where he’s sat at the edge of the bed. He hears Aleks zipping up his luggage and he looks up to see Aleks propping the bag against the end of his bed before he makes his way over to Brett.

 

“Looks like I’m about to head out of here,” Aleks sighs and grabs onto Brett’s shoulders. “Back to LA without you.”

“I’ll be back in a couple weeks.” Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose and puts on a smile for Aleks’ sake but the smile turns genuine when Aleks suddenly straddles his lap. “Can I help you with something else before you leave?” he asks as he grabs onto Aleks’ hips.

Aleks grins and nods. “Perhaps,” he says softly as he grabs Brett’s hat, tossing it off his head before he threads that hand in the back of his hair. “One last kiss for the road? Something for us to remember RTX by?”

“I’d say the sex is plenty for us to remember,” Brett actually chuckles but then he nods and begins to lean in. “But I'd be stupid to say no to that. C’mere.”

Their lips slot together and they both moan into each other’s mouths. Aleks moves himself closer on Brett’s lap to close the distance between their bodies and Brett slips his hands under the back of Aleks’ shirt to press on the small of his back, keeping him close as they kiss, slow and leisurely, taking their time with each other before they have to relinquish themselves back to the real world.

In the real world, they have jobs to do.

Brett has to help with the coverage of the Overwatch World Cup and his days will be filled with appointments, interviewing people and setting up the stages, whereas Aleks will fly back home to LA to run the channel he and James have worked so hard to cultivate. There won’t be much time at all to talk to each other so Brett’s kind of thankful that he’ll be busy - it’ll be a nice distraction from Aleks.

He won’t be plagued with thoughts of fucking Aleks, wondering if they’ll ever fuck again. He won’t wonder if they’ll ever kiss again, or cuddle, or continue to speak of what they’ve done in Texas with each other, in this very hotel room.

In the short time they had though, Brett was glad to give up work and responsibilities. Aleks was worth every single second.

 

They slowly pull away and Aleks rests his hands on Brett’s chest, leans in for a peck on the lips before he climbs off his lap. “Well uh…” Aleks swallows and goes back to grab his luggage. “Guess I should uh…”

“Yeah,” Brett sighs and stands up, reaches a hand into the pocket of his shorts to quickly adjust himself. “You should uh, get going. Don’t wanna be late,” he tells Aleks as he looks down to the floor, picking up a lone red shirt and leaning in to smell. It reeks of alcohol but there’s a hint of AXE cologne too.

_Aleks’ shirt._

“Don’t you want this?” Brett asks as he holds the shirt up. “Pretty sure it’s yours.”

Aleks shrugs. “Nah, just put it in with your luggage. I’m good.”

Brett nods and holds the shirt firmly to his chest. “Okay. Well… I’ll see you in 2 weeks?”

“2 weeks, yup.” Aleks nods and wheels his things to the hotel door. “Gonna be a long 2 weeks, my man!”

Brett sighs and his shoulders slump as he watches Aleks twist the doorknob. Right when Aleks opens the door, Brett’s mouth decides to rush past his mind and he calls out, “Aleks, wait!”

Aleks snaps his head to face Brett and he raises his eyebrows. “What’s up?”

Brett blinks a few times and bites at his bottom lip. His mind overtook his mouth in no time at all and he’s able to fully process his thoughts, as well as the ability to keep some back. After a few moments of silence, of Aleks waiting patiently, Brett decides on something else much more friendly.

“Just text me when you land, okay?” Brett asks. “So I know you’re safe.”

A smile graces Aleks’ face and he nods, tells Brett, “of course”, and then he leaves the room.

Thus, leaving Brett alone.

 

Brett frowns and holds the shirt tighter to his chest. He stares ahead at the door, like Aleks will come back to him and magically announce that he took his citizenship test after all and they can go to Shanghai and Sydney together but that’s only a fantasy and Brett’s in the real world.

In the real world, Brett’s alone. And he’ll have to go to these places alone.

In the silence of the hotel room, Brett softly speaks three words into existence - the three words he was originally going to say to Aleks before his mind caught up to him.

“I miss you.”

* * *

 

 

 **[Himself]** Hey, I know I texted you that I landed and all but I wanted to let you know that I’m finally back home.

 **[Brett]** Haha, nice. Glad to hear you’re there, safe and sound.

 

After sending his text, Aleks finally steps out of the Uber and looks ahead to his and Brett’s home. The natural breeze from the ocean ghosts over his body and the sun beats harshly down upon him as he takes the stone walkway to their front door. Aleks stops in his path when the red hummingbirds flutter past him to settle on the nearby bush, on top of the white flowers, and hop over to the feeder that Brett had put out for them.

Yup, he’s definitely back in LA. All by his lonesome, but he lived on his own before Brett. It’s nothing he can’t handle.

 

He steps away from the hummingbirds as to not startle them and continues to the front door. When he steps into their home, Mishka is already racing to the front door and excitedly barking her approval at Aleks’ return and she hops up to paw at Aleks’ legs.

“Hey, Mishka,” Aleks says softly, ruffling the fur on the back of her neck as he rolls his luggage over to the couch. “I missed you too, girl.”

Celia meows when the couch dips underneath with Aleks’ weight and after she stretches out, she saunters over to Aleks to snuggle up beside him. Mishka lies happily at Aleks’ feet and rests her head on top of her paws and as Aleks’ pets lave him with affection, he zips open his luggage and leafs through it for one item in particular… where is it… it’s gotta… there it is!

Aleks swipes out the black shirt from within and gives it a quick whiff. The very familiar, very comforting scent of cinnamon and vanilla blankets his senses in a cloud that brings him back to the breakfast he had with Brett at that crepe place. He closes his eyes and leans back against the couch, holding the shirt close to his chest. Aleks breathes in the scent one more time and opens his eyes to stare up at the ceiling.

Despite the fact that he’s holding Brett’s shirt, that Brett is completely taking over his senses, it’s still not the same.

 

Aleks frowns and looks ahead to the front door. Even with Mishka and Celia right beside him, he still feels terribly alone. Amidst the silence in the home, three words loudly project themselves to the barrier of Aleks’ mind.

_I miss you._


	26. Living In Monochrome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks misses Brett like crazy and he hates himself for it, but with James’ advice, coupled with it being Brett’s birthday, Aleks figures out a nice little way to mend the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna give a thanks to everybody who's still reading the story so far! All of the kudos and feedback and bookmarks are very much appreciated and I appreciate every single one of you <3

**** **July 11th, 2017**

 

Aleks sighs through his nose as he takes a long, languid sip of his water. He stares off into the sky at a random cloud, white on a blue canvas, and out of the corner of his eye shines the sun in yellow...

… but the colors aren’t as bright as they should be. They’re incredibly muted, to the point where they’re basically monochromatic and everybody’s words go in one ear and come out the other in static.

 

“Lindseeey, we got you your free food!” James says into his phone. “I know it’s kinda taking us awhile but our Lyft driver got fuckin’ lost, like, he dropped us off so far away from Chic Fil A so we had to get _another_  Lyft and I’m tellin’ you, it’s not our fault for once!”

Aleks reaches into the bag to munch on a waffle fry but it’s as tasteless as his water. Isn’t free food supposed to taste better? He was rather excited for Chic Fil A day because when else will he get a chance to get his favorite fast food _for free_ but now the day is here and it’s just incredibly dull.

It wasn’t like that the last time he went to Chic Fil A... with _Brett._

Brett had gone out of his way to drive them there after he and Geoff had that big argument with each other and it was just the thing to lift Aleks’ spirits, as well as lifting him from his sudden slumber.

He happily drank his vanilla milkshake, enjoyed his fries with honey mustard, and those chicken sandwiches were gone before Brett could say anything about it. It was, without a doubt, the best meal he had in awhile.

That was a little over a month ago and a lot has changed since then. He and Geoff broke up, he and Brett made out an exuberant number of times, he sucked Brett off, he fucked Brett, he and Brett showered together, Brett teased him like a fucking dick, and wow, Brett sure is the focal point of all of these changes, huh?

Now Brett’s gone.

Gone forever, never to return.

… okay, Aleks knows he’s coming back in about 2 weeks but it still doesn’t change the fact that he misses him a great deal.

 

Day 2 without Brett and it still hasn’t been any easier.

He goes downstairs, expects Brett to serve him bacon in all his shirtless glory but it’s just Aleks, Aleks in his sweats and microwaved blueberry PopTarts, and occasionally Mishka and Celia fill the silence with their barks and purrs.

He’d much rather listen to Brett’s nasally voice, but then that’s always been music to his ears.

 

“So Aleks,” Asher says as he picks up the pace to catch up with everybody in the parking lot near the office. “How’s it been without Brett?”

Aleks shrugs and takes another sip of his water. “I dunno, fine, I guess.”

God, it’s so hot out here. When the fuck did it get so hot and _why_ the fuck did Aleks decide to wear the Cow Chop onesie to Chic Fil A when the gaming jersey would’ve sufficed? It’s simmering up like a boiler room inside this onesie and Aleks is desperate to get back to the warehouse, take it off, then go the hell back home.

Not that it’s really felt like a home for the past 2 days. There’s a big, strong part missing to it.

“It must be nice though, not having to hear his voice screech at you all the time,” Asher reasons.

“Yeah, how do you live with that?” Trevor asks behind his cow head mask. “I know you said he’s been a chill roommate but that was like, months ago.”

“How do I _live_ with that?” Aleks furrows his eyebrows and turns to Trevor.

“I mean like, he’s so serious sometimes,” Trevor clarifies. “He’s not like that with you?”

“Yeah, like I wish he would chill,” Asher adds. “Like before RTX, he got mad that I wouldn’t stay late to finish editing a video, like it’d really matter that much if I waited until the morning to finish it.”

Aleks doesn’t really recognize this sensation that’s flooding the inner workings of his body but whatever it is, it really makes him want to latch onto Asher and Trevor’s throats and wring their necks. Unfortunately, he can’t do that because his hands are full… and it’s also kind of illegal to choke somebody that hard, he’s pretty sure.

 _“I don’t_ **_care_ ** _,” Brett pushes two fingers into Aleks’ hole, “how much you hate begging, if you want daddy to fuck you like you want so much, you’re_ **_going_ ** _to beg for it so don’t make me tell you again.” He squeezes Aleks’ throat harder and nips at his neck before he growls into his ear again. “_ **_Beg._ ** _”_

Aleks really hopes that’s the California heat that’s heating up his cheeks right now. He takes another sip of water in an effort to cool himself down before he speaks, because he really doesn’t need to be stammering like an idiot in his defense for Brett.

 

Trevor frowns as he eats a nugget and looks off to the side. “You know, for free nuggets, these aren’t too good. I don’t - dude, James!!” he whines as James smacks the nuggets out of his hand and the nuggets tumble onto the cement of the parking lot - for more than 5 seconds, which forever marks them as unsafe to eat.

Aleks looks over to James when James looks to him and the grin James sends his way lets Aleks know it was intentional. Aleks huffs a fond breath through his nose and his shoulders slump in slight relaxation while James walks over to wrap an arm around his shoulder, steering him away from the crime scene and back down the path to the office.

“You were about to throw hands, dude,” James mumbles into his ear.

Aleks presses his lips together and looks down inside the bag. “Brett just works hard and takes it real serious, more than everybody else. Somebody has to defend him on that.”

“He’s a grown man,” James reminds him. “He wouldn’t want you stressing yourself out about him.”

“I’m not stressed,” Aleks scoffs and looks up to James. He notes the knowing look James is giving him and rolls his eyes. “I’m not stressed, dude!” He proclaims as they head into the office parking lot.

“What are you apparently not stressed out about?” Lindsey asks as she moves the sunglasses high up on her forehead. “Ooh, food!”

“Yeah, you can take it,” Aleks mumbles as he shoves the bag into James’ chest before he walks away from the group, past the front door and into the warehouse.

He’s immediately blasted by air conditioning and he sets the water down on the coffee table in the lobby so he can remove his arms from the sleeves of the onesie. He ties the sleeves around his waist and then he proceeds to go to Brett’s office with the intentions of going through it to his desk (even though Brett doesn’t want people invading his space but if he can literally invade Aleks’ body with his dick, then he can handle Aleks briefly walking through his office) but he stops in front of the wide mirror on the wall.

An inkling of a red mark pokes above the collar of his jersey and nobody else quite knows what it is but Aleks sure does. Aleks breathes in deeply and walks up to the mirror, reaching a hand up to tug his collar down to get a better look at the hickey Brett had left on him a few days ago.

_“Because you belong to me tonight,” Brett declares in a lowly tone._

_“Yes,_ **_yes,_ ** _daddy, I belong to you!” Aleks repeats._

_“You are mine.”_

_“I’m_ **_yours,_ ** _daddy,” Aleks whines._

_“Want daddy to mark you up?”_

_Aleks closes his eyes and nods, an involuntary, high pitched noise escaping his mouth and it’s all Brett needs to dip his head into Aleks’ neck and latch his teeth onto the skin._

Aleks slams his eyes shut and inhales deeply, stepping away from the mirror before he exhales with a small whine and then he lets go of the collar for it to snap back onto his skin.

_I miss him so fucking much._

Aleks misses every god damn thing about Brett. That amazing beard of his, made from the finest and darkest of angel hairs, to his huge biceps, sculpted from the best artists in the Heavens above, and then that thick cock… well, that’s just beyond description. Brett is a man of such high caliber that descriptions don’t do him justice. Even calling him the epitome of man does nothing to help in those regards.

 

He walks through Brett’s office, tiptoes past all the wires strewn throughout (Brett’s office _really_ needs a makeover), and makes it out the other side to see Joe at his desk - must’ve made his way there when Aleks was busy admiring the mark Brett had left on him.

_Probably the only one he’ll ever make._

“Aleks!” Joe exclaims. “Hey, dude, you alright?”

“Uh, yeah.” Aleks nods and runs his hand down his face. “Just like, tired. And it’s like, super hot so I think that’s getting to me too,” he forces a chuckle.

“By the way, I finished editing my uh… birthday video?” Joe mentions. “It was really cool, by the way, all of you are like… super awesome but did you want me to leave in the stuff about Brett signing your ass and that uh, joint birthday message you guys did?”

Aleks furrows his eyebrows. “Joint birthday message?”

“Yeah, you were on Brett’s lap-”

“O-Oh, uh, y-yeah,” Aleks stutters and rubs the back of his neck. “Right…”

Aleks and Brett literally just left the Jackalope, hand in hand, to go fuck each other, and left Joe and James there with all of their other friends. Aleks still feels bad about it, because it was Joe’s birthday weekend and he left him to get laid but also, like, _it’s Brett._ Does Aleks need to explain himself beyond that?

Joe doesn’t seem to care at all though. He’s a total bro like that.

“I kept it in because I figured if you didn’t want me to, you could just-”

“Yeah, no, you can uh, you can leave it in,” Aleks assures. “Thanks for asking me first though, I appreciate it.”

“For sure, I’d feel fucking terrible if I uploaded that and you actually like, regretted the night or something and it brought up bad memories or whatever.”

“No, that night was _hella lit,”_ Aleks chuckles and gives a thumbs up. “Trust me.”

“Yeah?” Joe grins and raises an eyebrow at Aleks before he looks to his desktop, watches as it powers down. “What did you two do when you left?”

“Just uh. You know.” Aleks clears his throat. “Guy stuff.”

_More like gay stuff. GOT ‘EM._

“Guy stuff…” Joe purses his lips and nods. “Cool, I get it. Well, I will see you tomorrow then.”

They give each other friendly goodbyes and as Joe makes his way back out of the office, Aleks returns to his desk. He plops a seat on the chair and then unties the arms of the onesie so he can push it down his legs, revealing the jeans underneath, and then he hangs the onesie over the back of his chair. Aleks raises his eyebrows when his phone vibrates and he reaches inside his jeans to check the notification.

Aleks is so glad that nobody heard him squeal just now - not that it was too loud, along with the fact that it was only for like, half a second.

 

 **[Brett]** It’s 5 in the morning. I just landed in China.

 **[Brett]** I’m tired and I want to die.

 

Aleks’ fingers flash over the keyboard with lightning speed to type his response.

 

 **[Himself]** Duuude, same.

 **[Himself]** I’ve been wanting to die since RTX.

 **[Himself]** Also, I miss you.

 

He erases the last text before he can fully send it out and with a sigh, he tosses his phone onto his desk. When he looks back up, he sees Lindsey happily munching away on her chicken sandwich.

“Why are you still here?” Aleks asks, crossing a leg over the other.

“You seem kinda out of it today,” Lindsey answers.

Aleks’ lips quirk upwards and he shrugs before he swivels his chair to face the desktop, allowing his silence to confirm Lindsey’s suspicions and also hoping that it’ll be enough for her to not ask questions.

It is not.

“Well what’s wrong?” Lindsey asks as she sits atop Aleks’ desk. “Are you missing your big, strong roomie at all?”

He stares ahead at the wallpaper of his desktop and looks straight into the eyes of the Cow Chop bull logo. He really doesn’t wanna talk about this at all because it’s kind of pathetic but now Lindsey is actually bringing him up and it reminds Aleks, once again, that Brett’s not here with him and he’s all alone and he’ll probably die alone too, oh nooooo…

“Yeah,” Aleks answers quietly with a frown as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Awww, Aleks.” Lindsey frowns and tilts her head. “You wanna talk about it?”

“It’s stupid,” Aleks mumbles. “He’s only been gone 2 days but I like, really miss him and-”

“Well you guys have been pretty much inseparable since you came to LA,” Lindsey tries to assure. “It’s normal for you to-”

“I was missing him even before we separated from each other,” Aleks admits. “I knew I was gonna miss him but I didn’t think I’d miss him like even before we split and I didn’t think it’d be this much, _fuck,”_ he groans and rubs at his closed eyes. “I’ve never missed somebody this fucking much and he’s only gonna be gone for 2 fucking weeks, it’s so fucking _stupid-”_

“Aleks, it’s not stupid-”

“Duuuuude, yes it is.”

“No it’s nooot,” Lindsey says softly as she hops off the desk to go behind Aleks’ chair.

Aleks huffs and crosses his arms back over his chest, looking over to the wall as he waits for Lindsey to explain why it really isn’t as stupid as he thinks it is, even though it’s the stupidest fucking thing in the world.

_Me and him aren’t even together, this is stupid._

“You guys are really close now,” Lindsey says as she puts her hands on Aleks’ shoulders. “You’re going to start missing him a lot, even when you guys are together. He’s a big part of your life, Aleks, there’s nothing wrong with missing one of your closest friends.”

Aleks purses his lips over to the side and looks down to his arms, poking his tongue around the inside of his cheek. There is… a sliver of a point being made but Aleks isn’t going to give in so quickly.

“You know, I was missing all of you guys even before you all went to RTX,” Lindsey reveals, gently rubbing at Aleks’ shoulders. “I have so much fun with you guys and then suddenly I was alone, mostly anyways, and it felt like a part of my life was missing.” She looks down to Aleks and reaches her finger over to poke the tip of his nose. “That’s all it is, bud!”

He wrinkles his nose and bites down on his lips to stifle the grin threatening to present itself. “Still stupid,”  he says.

“You’re so stubborn,” Lindsey chuckles and rolls her eyes, taking her hands off Aleks. “You’re just like Brett in that way. But you know I’m right.”

Maybe she is. Maybe she isn’t. So what?!

“You wanna know something, Aleks?”

“What?”

“I bet you with everything I have, that Brett misses you just as much as you miss him.”

Aleks’ whole body lightens and a breath escapes through his parted lips. He rolls his lips back between his teeth and bites down hard, knowing that if he doesn’t do anything to stop his mouth, that it’ll break out into the biggest smile in the world because even the possibility that Brett would feel the same completely turns Aleks’ perspective around.

It completely makes Aleks feel better about missing Brett. He still thinks it’s stupid but it’s very reassuring to know that, along with the fact that even Lindsey feels the same way about him and James and everybody else, that Brett could possibly be facing the same dilemma. He probably isn’t fretting over it like Aleks is because he’s more in tune with his emotions and shit but if Brett feels the same… why should Aleks feel stupid about it?

Not that he can easily give Lindsey the pleasure of being right.

 

So he hardens his face somewhat, brings up his shoulders, and swivels in his chair to face Lindsey with the smallest of grins, only allowing it to show so Lindsey knows he’ll only be teasing. “You’ll never be right,” Aleks tells her. “You’re wrong. And you’re gonna grow up to be _wrong,_ Lindsey. Lindsey _Wrongburn.”_

Lindsey raises her eyebrows and sends Aleks a rather wary grin as she backs up from his desk. “Wow. Very creative. You must’ve been thinking of that all day.”

Aleks shrugs. “Honestly, there’s not much to do at the house since Brett’s been gone.”

Lindsey narrows her eyes and her wary grin turns more suggestive, the corner of her mouth higher than the other. “You know, it really is cute that you miss him. And like I said, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’m still ashamed,” Aleks sighs and stands up from the desk, swiping his phone to shove it into his pocket. “But I can live with it.”

“Then my job here is done!” Lindsey chimes and takes out her phone to quickly send a text. “You’re gonna be just fiiiine, Aleks.”

 

 **[Lindsey]** So what even happened at RTX between Brett and Aleks???

 

Aleks watches Lindsey go back to her desk, right behind his own, before he leans over to turn off the desktop. He’s ready to go home and kick it back with Mishka and Celia… maybe he’ll watch Voltron on Netflix. Or watch reruns of Suits. What if he starts streaming again? That’ll be a good way to pass the time for 2 weeks before he inevitably goes off the Twitch grid for a few months again.

 

 **[James]** I don’t know EXACTLY but I do know that a lot happened.

 

Or he can text Brett and bother him… nah, he’s busy as fuck and a bunch of people are probably blowing up his phone right now as they speak. He doesn’t wanna add onto the possible annoyances Brett is dealing with.

They fucked each other but that doesn’t mean Aleks is suddenly the one person Brett can make an exception to everything for. Even if Brett misses him, Aleks knows the man probably appreciates space and time to himself.

 

 **[Lindsey]** I think… that you should go find out what happened.

 **[Lindsey]** I’d ask Brett but he’s probably suuuuper busy.

 

You know what? Aleks doesn’t need to text Brett. He doesn’t need to talk to him every single second. This is their time apart to breathe.

Yes, everything will be just fine without Brett! Life will go on and it shall go on smoothly.

* * *

 

 

**July 13th, 2017**

 

Aleks almost burned down the warehouse a few minutes ago.

In his defense, he didn’t mean to almost burn down the warehouse. He meant to get a very small fire going to solicit an entertaining reaction from James and he achieved that goal, uh, the only problem was that he achieved it too well.

Not a minute later and the fire had covered all of the other remaining gifts for their Amazon Prime and it was then that Aleks finally leaped into action along with everybody else to put it out. The only casualties were the right arm of the Cow Chop couch and James’ gift, a clay mold for you and a loved one to hold hands in - a memento of the relationship. If you ask Aleks, he thinks Cow Chop is a big enough memento of their friendly relationship.

The new intern keeps looking over to the trashed couch from his desk and usually Brett’s the one to take charge and dole out the reassurance but he’s not here (Day 4!) so Aleks takes it upon himself to cheer the intern up.

 

“Hey uh…” Aleks scratches the back of his head. “This doesn’t happen all the time, I promise. But I totally get it, your first day and you’re already having to put out these sudden fires and shit.”

“Yeah,” the intern replies meekly. “That was uh, something else.”

Aleks rolls his lips back and looks off towards the open warehouse garage door, where smoke was still escaping. “At least uh, you’ll get a cool story to tell your friends about, right?” he chuckles and looks back to the intern, who forces a smile.

“I hope so,” he says before he turns on his desktop.

_I wish Brett was here._

The silence builds into awkwardness after a few seconds and Aleks takes a few steps back, pursing his lips and twiddling his thumbs before he turns on his heel towards Brett’s office. He could easily go back to his desk and work but after that fire and a slightly awkward social interaction, Brett’s office seems like the perfect safe haven.

It’s totally not because he still misses Brett after Lindsey’s talk and wants to feel him by his side or anything. That’s silly and you’re silly for thinking that.

 

Aleks opens the door and steps inside, right on a sheet of notebook paper. He furrows his eyebrows together and hunches down to grab the paper, thinking it’ll have something important written on the lines but it’s entirely blank. With a sigh, he crumbles it up and tosses it into the trashcan in the corner and then he looks over to Brett’s desk, on the other end of the room. It’s a relatively short distance but all the obstacles in between lengthen the path by a wide margin.

No words can perfectly depict how disorganized Brett’s office is. It’s a miracle that he even has a messy office considering how tidy his and Aleks’ home is.

Knick knacks are scattered along the floor along with miscellaneous papers of various importance and on the couch across from his desk are opened boxes from Amazon holding even more useless junk. On top of that, Brett’s office is completely devoid of any personality, no sentimental posters or pictures anywhere - the only thing this office conveys is a gigantic fucking mess.

Then again, that’s what Cow Chop is. Maybe it’s fitting that Brett’s office is such a mess.

“I’m gonna fucking clean this shit up before he comes back,” Aleks mumbles as he carefully steps through the floor to Brett’s desk. “Go all fucking Ty Pennington on it.”

That wouldn’t be a bad video idea - Extreme Home Makeover in Brett’s office! It could really do with a cleanup and an upgrade in aesthetic but considering it has no aesthetic at the moment, anything will work as an upgrade. There’s literally no way this office could get any worse.

He hops up into Brett’s chair and looks over to the door when he hears it creak open to see James stepping into the office with the charred remains of his Amazon gift.

 

“You burned our fucking friendship to the ground, dude,” James teases as he precariously steps through the floor.

“You fucking made it worse,” Aleks chuckles. “You kept fucking batting at the flames and helped them spread.”

“You’re the one who started it.” James raises a pointed eyebrow and then slams the remains onto Brett’s desk - a paper with burnt edges that says “Create-A-Mold” at the top. “And you’re also the one who ended our friendship.”

“If I kiss you, would that make it better?”

James blinks a few times and then looks over to the door. He heavily breathes in and then exhales a long sigh before he leans in and taps his cheek. “Okay, make it a good one.”

Aleks smiles and leans in, grabbing the sides of James’ face and quickly moving his head to steal a peck on the lips instead of the cheek as James intended. When Aleks pulls away, James looks over to him with a grimace and swipes the back of his hand against his lips.

“Was it as good for you as it was for me?” Aleks asks.

“I’m not sure,” James answers. “I’m kind of afraid of where your mouth has been.”

Aleks scoffs and rolls his eyes as he leans back in Brett’s chair. “It hasn’t been…” He presses his lips together and looks down at his legs, crossing one over the other while a blush rises to his cheeks. “Well…”

Has it really been about a week since he sucked off Brett? Since Brett fucked him? It’s interesting how time flies when you’re having fun because Aleks has been having less of it with Brett not here but that week really flew by. He can only hope time continues to go fast so Brett can come back to LA quicker. Sure, he and Aleks have been texting each other but it’s not a lot, just here and there when Brett finds the time in his busy schedule.

James scans Aleks’ body, notes the changes in his body language, and he can’t help the knowing grin that flashes onto his face. “So your mouth _has_  been somewhere?”

“I-It was like a week ago,” Aleks mumbles.

“Like… during RTX?” James asks with his grin widening. “Who were you with? Because as far as I know, from what I saw, you and Brett were like fucking siamese twins with how attached at the hip y’all were.”

Aleks’ eyes wander around his legs, look up to Brett’s desktop, then up at the ceiling before they look off to the side. He even turns his head to the side, away from James, and he takes off his hat to scratch the top of his scalp. “Hey uh,” Aleks sets the hat back on his head, “do you wanna like, go out and grab lunch or-”

 _“Aleksandr,”_ James gasps. “Did you and Brett fuck after leaving me and Joe to dry?”

“No,” Aleks scoffs. “That happened the next night.” And when he realizes what he just said, his eyes slam shut and he mumbles a “fuck” to himself, shaking his head wildly before he snaps it over to look at the very flabbergasted James. “Dude, don’t tell anybody.”

“Dude, holy shit, you actually fucked Brett?” James asks.

Aleks looks back and forth between the two doors to Brett’s office before he looks back to James with a nod.

James whistles and leans back against the wall, shoving his hands into his jeans. “Was it like, a one time thing or what? What are y’all doing?”

Aleks shrugs and swivels in the chair to face him. “I mean, I want it to be more than a one time thing but we didn’t really talk about it,” he explains. “It’s not like I can call him while he’s away either and be like, _‘uh, yo, Brett, was that just a one time thing or are we gonna start fucking every day?’_ because he’s busy as fuck and that’s like, a pretty big thing to talk about.”

It’s definitely something he’s going to bring up to Brett when he gets back but for now, they won’t have enough time to properly discuss it. Not to mention the wonky time differences between LA and China and Australia - a deep conversation with Brett about the possibilities of upgrading their friendship to a much more fun level just isn’t feasible, at the moment.

 

“Yeah, I get it.” James nods. “Shit, that’s complicated.”

“Tell me about it,” Aleks sighs. “God, why do I have to be _here_ while Brett is all the way over _there?_ I can’t do anything about it until he comes back.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” James leans back off the wall and rests his hands on top the desk. “Just because you guys are apart doesn’t mean you can’t like… have some fun with each other. Maybe you can’t talk about it in depth but like, if you guys fucked, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind it if you wanted to send him like…” he shrugs and looks down to his hands. “I dunno. Some risque pictures. Or just some hints.”

Aleks narrows his eyes at James, blinks a few times before he leans in and tilts his head. “You want me to _sext Brett?”_ he asks in an almost bewildered tone.

“Do you have an argument against it?”

“Yeah, dude, what if I fucking weird him out because he thought it was a one time thing?”

“You’re a fucking dumbass, dude, goddamn,” James sighs and rolls his eyes before he looks to Aleks. He then gently hits his shoulder and says, “you’re not gonna weird him out! Just do it, you pussy!”

Aleks frowns as he rubs at his shoulder and he looks over to the calendar hanging on the wall. He raises his eyebrows when James begins to speak again and he gives his best friend his attention.

“You know, it’s his birthday in China right now.” James raises an eyebrow. “Perfect time to do it.”

Aleks sighs and takes out his phone from his sweatpants to open Brett’s contact. “Guess uh… that’s somewhat of a point.”

Besides uh, he can just tell Brett he was memeing if Brett takes it poorly… right? Aleks does that a lot. He’s never sexted anybody under the guise of a joke but Brett can always be that first, just like Brett was the first man that made Aleks realize he was bisexual or how Aleks was the first man that made Brett realize he was bisexual, stuff like that.

On second thought, maybe there’s nothing to worry about with sexting Brett. If he’s been wanting to fuck Aleks like crazy since he’s moved in, then chances are high in Aleks’ favor that Brett won’t mind seeing a little _something something_  from him.

But he’s gotta test those waters first.

 

 **[Himself]** Hey. Brettzle Stick.

 **[Himself]** What do you think of thigh highs?

 **[Himself]** I’m doing a poll.

 

Why thigh highs specifically? First thing that came to his head.

 

“Also,” James adds, “if you send nudes to Brett, it’ll distract him from the fact that the warehouse almost burned down.” He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck, looking away and pretending like his statement was totally casual.

Aleks rolls his eyes with a grin and looks back up to James. “I knew you just wanted us to hook up so you could get away with shit.”

“It’s part of it.”

“And what’s the other part?”

“Cause I want you to be happy,” James answer. “And if Brett dicking you down constantly makes you happy, I’m in full support.”

“You weren’t in full support of me and Geoff.”

“But I had my reasons,” James points out.

Aleks opens his mouth, prepared to agree with James and tell him that he was totally right about Geoff and Gavin’s weird thing, but it shuts as quickly as it opens. It’s not his place to tell James about them, nor was it his place to tell Brett but Brett’s always had the front seat to their relationship. It was easy for Aleks to open up to him, about his relationship with Geoff or the deep thoughts in his mind he reveals to nobody else, and everything in between.

_Buzz buzz._

 

 **[Brett]** Thigh highs are God’s gift to this sinful earth.

 **[Brett]** You totally got the legs for them too.

 

“I’ll leave you to it then,” James says as he turns to walk away. “I shouldn’t be in his office anyways, I’d say you shouldn’t either but if Brett likes it when you’re on his dick, he probably doesn’t mind it if you’re on his chair.”

Without looking up from his phone, Aleks says, “yeah uh, I don’t think he’d mind it either.”

He certainly doesn’t think Brett will mind a sext from him too. There’s no doubt in his mind about it now… just as long as he wears some thigh highs.

_… fuck, I don’t even have thigh highs._

* * *

 

Thanks to Walmart and their low, low prices, Aleks was able to secure some pretty nice thigh high socks! Completely black with some white stripes along the top, totally cool looking and not at all feminine like he thought it would be… until he looks in the bathroom mirror.

_Jesus christ, I look more like a twink than before._

Brett better be a big fucking fan of this! Aleks thinks he’s a thong and faceful of makeup away from looking like a complete submissive twink and he doesn’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing for his current predicament… would Brett be into that? Doesn’t matter, Aleks would _never_ dress up for him like that.

Aleks already begged for Brett last week, he’ll give it like, another year before he adds another bullet point from that forbidden list over to the realm of possibilities.

 

Maybe if he puts on a shirt, it’ll offset the twinkiness and give him an ounce of dignity back, so he leaves the bathroom to go into his bedroom, he swipes the shirt from on top the laundry basket, and oh, what do you know? It’s that black shirt of Brett’s he took back with him! It might be a bit too big on him but it’ll have to do.

He throws it over his body and goes back into the bathroom to examine the results and the shirt is a bit big on him but despite the fact that it could be like a nightgown, it gives Aleks a modicum of dignity back. It also hides the very slight added pudge to his stomach - Aleks has gained a few pounds since coming to LA and nobody else might notice at the moment but he definitely does.

Whether he actually keeps the shirt on for the video he has planned for Brett is another thing but while he’s taking pictures, it can stay. What was it that Brett told him the night he and Aleks fucked? That he was going to take Aleks into a world of pure imagination? So he’ll let Brett’s imagination run rampant, leave a little mystery to the whole thing even though his dick is standing at full attention.

 

Aleks picks up the phone from the bathroom counter and steps away from the counter some so the majority of his body can be on display in front of the mirror. He turns his back to the mirror and slightly spreads his leg, opens up the camera on his phone while one hand moves to spread open one of his asscheeks. Aleks moves his phone around to get the mirror and his body in the frame and then he takes, what he hopes, will be the perfect picture to throw Brett into the world of perverse temptation.

 

 **[Himself]** What do you think?


	27. Dreaming In Neon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Brett’s birthday and Aleks gets him the greatest birthday present that he can think of - himself.

**** **July 14th, 2017**

 

It might be the 13th right now in LA but in China, it’s currently the 14th - which means Brett is officially 34 years old! Another year older, another year closer to death! Hooray!

But Brett is officially working on his birthday, for the majority of the day, so he probably won’t be doing anything.

Or anyone.

Particularly, a super pretty blonde twink with gorgeous tattoos and the tightest ass in the world, _oh my god, he was so fucking tight._

 

“... so yeah, man!” The world cup player, otherwise known as Not Aleks, chuckles and claps his hands. “I do that, and they’re dead! Done and dusted!”

“Haha yeah, dude, I feel you,” Brett says, even though he does not “feel him” in the slightest.

_I wish I could feel Aleks right now._

“So hey, who are you rooting for in the World Cup?” asks Not Aleks.

Oh fuck, he has to actually answer for once and get creative. He can’t say the usual things people say to act like they’re listening when they’re really not! _Uh, um…_

“I’m uh, gonna have to go with Russia,” Brett replies.

“Russia?”

“I dunno, they just resonate with me.”

“They’re in the World Cup?”

_… are they?_

“Yeah, uh, I’ve been keeping up with them for months, yo!” Brett pats Not Aleks’ shoulder. “Who are you rooting for besides your own?”

Not Aleks could’ve told Brett he was rooting for world domination and Brett wouldn’t have bat an eye. He hasn’t been paying attention and he knows he should, because this is the Overwatch World Cup and it’s a pretty important event in the world of esports but it kind of happened immediately after he and Aleks fucked. No offense, but Aleks and his thick ass is more important than video games.

_“Don’t stop!” Aleks whines. “Fuck, **Brett,** don’t ever stop, please!” _

_“Am I fucking you hard enough, huh?” Brett asks in an almost taunting tone. “Am I fucking you good enough?”_

_Aleks whimpers, “yes, yes! You’re so good, Brett, I **promise**.” _

Jesus christ, he was so god damn fucking hot. Brett’s body is heating up just thinking about the night again and he wishes he could go somewhere, take off his camo jacket, and relax but as soon as this interview wraps up, he can take a break in the interviewer lounge - an hour is all he needs to to stop thinking about Aleks and do his job.

Unless Aleks waltzes into the arena anytime soon. What _would_  Brett be doing if Aleks came along anyways? Would they be going out like usual or would they continue what they did in Texas?

 

“Hey man, thanks for the interview!” Not Aleks smiles and offers his hand. “Real fun time!”

_I wish I could go back to LA and have a fun time with Aleks._

“Yeah man, thanks for letting me interview you!” Brett takes his hand and gives it a good shake. “Kick some ass for me out there, alright?”

_I wanna kick Aleks’ ass. With my dick… wait, that doesn’t even make sense._

They part ways before Brett makes a beeline for the interviewer’s lounge, walking through the throngs of people to enter the sanctuary. There are a few other people in here but they’re texting on their phones and have made it a point to distance themselves from everybody else. There’s an available couch propped against the wall so Brett plops a seat and takes out his phone, along with some headphones, but that’s when his phone buzzes with a message from Aleks.

Ooh, what’s this? There’s a picture attachment? Whatever could it be?

_I’m going to fucking destroy that ass when I see him again._

God! DAMN! Look at that ass! It’s so round and it’s just like _out there,_ how can anybody deny the thickness of that ass? Brett’s so hooked on the image and he can’t stop staring, doesn’t _wanna_  stop, because daaaaamn son! Baby _got_ **_BACK._ ** Baby got legs too and they look _so fine_  in those thigh highs, like mmm, Brett just wants to sink his nails in those threads and rip them apart like he wants to rip apart that ass.

 

 **[Aleks]** What do you think?

 

He’s seriously asking Brett what he thinks of him showing off his ass in thigh high? Aleks is absolutely doing this on purpose! Brett knows this for a fact now because Aleks was teasing him all damn week in Texas, he even said so himself that it was fun to get Brett all hot and bothered! Aleks is great at it too, it’s like he knows how to perfectly use every square inch of his body for maximum seduction potential and right now, even though they’re on opposite ends of the world… he’s getting Brett all hot and bothered!

God damn. That Russian twink is _magnificent._

 

~~**[Himself]** I wanna fuck the shit out of you. ~~

~~**[Himself]** mmm lemme get a piece of dat ass ~~

**[Himself]** I think I want a lot more.

 

There, it took him a few tries but Brett finally sent a message that isn’t too overt or too vague - a perfect balance that won’t send Aleks screaming for the hills.

To think that a few months ago, Brett was worrying about saying anything that could possibly hint he wants to _kiss_  Aleks but there’s not too much to worry about now. He still wishes that he and Aleks can be something a lot more but that’s not on the horizon at all so it’s not ever something he has to concern himself with. Brett’s a grown man that can deal with somebody not liking him back in that way. It’s not high school anymore.

 

Brett thinks that’s the end of that so he goes on Twitter to kill some time. Maybe mindless memes and tweets will take his mind off Aleks completely! By the time he’s done with the break he laid out for himself, he’ll actually be ready to do his job!

But he goes on Twitter and there’s numerous tweets tagging him and Aleks along with various screencaps, either of Brett signing his ass (that, he remembers) or Aleks on his lap (that, he _doesn’t_  remember), the both of them wearing those furry raccoon hats - looks like they got around to uploading that video of their drunk, rowdy time on 6th Street.

The tweets about the video are relatively harmless, with comments like _“Brett and Aleks are my new ship”_ and _“@CowChop when are you releasing the video of Brett and Aleks sucking each other’s dicks?”_ though that last one is enough to make Brett do a double take and he reminds himself to watch the video later. Might give him some more insight into that drunk night.

He wishes he could find out exactly what happened in the hotel room before he fell asleep on Aleks but they got it eventually, didn’t they? It doesn’t matter too much so he casts that thought aside but then he wonders, hey, when the fuck _did_ Aleks take ahold of his life and turn him into this near lustful shell of a man? It sort of just snuck up on Brett but there has to be a specific moment where he looked at Aleks and thought _“I wish he could be mine.”_

In fact, there was a specific moment, but Brett can’t contemplate that for long because his phone starts buzzing again with a notification from Aleks, an attachment followed by the text of… _jesus christ, Aleks, stop!_

 

 **[Aleks]** Happy birthday, daddy. The older, the hotter ;)

 

The video thumbnail of Aleks looking into the lens is innocuous but Brett is aware of what Aleks is capable of and it just puts him more on edge. The video is about 2 minutes long and there’s a lot Aleks can do in that seemingly short amount of time. Brett doubts it’s just Aleks singing happy birthday for 2 minutes.

But when he presses play, the sound of Aleks’ singing is literal music to his ear and maybe, just maybe, it’s as innocent as he thinks.

 

_“Happy birthday…” Aleks rolls his lips back with a hum and his phone camera shakes slightly in his hand. “... to you. Happy…” he breathes out a chuckle and bites down on his bottom lip before he exhales a long sigh that borders on another hum. “... birthday… to you…”_

… this is innocent, isn’t it? Brett wonders why Aleks is having difficulty singing a rather simple song- _oh my god, what if this is all a trick._

_“Happy biiiiirthday…” Aleks sighs and leans his head back against the wall, his eyes falling shut with a moan. “... happy birthday, Brett Hundley… happy birthday…. to you.”_

Brett swallows and looks around the room, in case the video is so loud it breaks through the sound barrier of his headphones and garners everybody’s attention but everybody is glued to their phones. They have no idea of the torture Brett is going through.

_Aleks chuckles and shakes his head before he lids his eyes open at the camera. “You know, it’s actually really hard to clearly sing when I’m fucking myself but I hope that message came across okay.”_

Yup, Aleks’ message came across loud and cl- _he’s WHAT?!_

The camera moves around until it’s steady again and Brett watches as Aleks’ full body enters the view of the camera. He’s sat up against a wall, legs spread in his thigh highs, and now that Brett gets a better look at his shirt, he realizes _Aleks is wearing my shirt, that’s so hot,_ and now that Aleks’ hands are free, he can steady himself on the floor with one while the other trails the head of the dildo around the rim of his lubed hole.

_“You know, I really miss you,” Aleks says as he trails the dildo against his shaft, all the way to the head of his cock before it makes its way back down. “I hate myself for it but I miss you a lot. I just miss being around you, being myself around you…”_

The image of Aleks in barely an outfit is incredibly sexy and it’s one that Brett won’t ever scrub clean from his head but to hear Aleks say that he misses him, misses him _a lot,_ probably as much as Brett misses him, is a much more important experience for his mind to lodge into its bank. It’s much more gratifying than any compliment about his muscles and physique and more satisfying than being called “daddy”. It’s sentimental and that, to Brett, holds the most value.

_“I miss the way you smell,” Aleks chuckles and his breath hitches when he presses the head inside, only to quickly remove it with a small whimper. “A-And I miss… I miss that stupid fucking way you always pound your hands together when you talk.”_

Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose at that. When his heart flutters, his whole body flutters with it, and it forces the corners of his mouth upwards into a fond smile.

_Aleks slowly swipes his tongue along his lips, looks back up into the camera with a heated gaze in his dark eyes, and as he pushes the dildo back inside, a loud mewl is released from his lips before he moans, “and I miss your big fucking cock, daddy.”_

Brett didn’t know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn’t that.

_Aleks mouth widens the more he pushes the dildo inside and once it’s all the way sheathed inside, he cries out loudly into the room and runs his free hand back through his blonde strands. “Fuck, I want you in me so **bad,** Brett,” he moans as he begins to steadily thrust the toy in and out. “I wish you’d come back and just fuck the hell out of me, f-fuck me stupid like you did that night, remember?” _

“Of course I do,” Brett whispers, like Aleks can hear.

_“Because I remember, I remember everything about it and how you felt when you were fucking me, because you felt **so good,** Brett, oh my god,” Aleks moans and looks up at the ceiling, shakes his head before he looks down into the camera. “How can you just fucking leave me here while you go all the way over **there,** like… you call me a tease but you’re a tease and you don’t even fucking know it.” _

Aleks says all this like Brett wanted to leave him alone! If he knew he was gonna fuck Aleks at RTX, he would’ve rejected the invitation to the Overwatch World Cup! There’s no way he could function rationally after a fuck like that... and he isn’t! It doesn’t affect his work too much but Aleks is definitely the top priority in his mind, even as he interviews the best Overwatch players from all over the world.

Brett knew that if he and Aleks fucked it would drive him crazy, which he accepted, even with the highly probable caveat that Aleks would’ve just put that night behind him.

Every once in awhile, Brett’s glad to be wrong.

_Aleks sighs as he shoves the dildo all the way back inside, clenches tightly around it to keep it in while he grabs the hem of his shirt. He throws it up and over his head to be naked in only the thigh highs and then he turns around, sits up on his knees, and presses a hand on the wall. The other hand grabs the base of the dildo and as he spreads his legs apart, he goes back to fucking himself._

_“I bet you wanna fuck me, huh?” Aleks breathes as he turns his head to the side, looks back into the camera. “Don’t you wanna fill me up with that thick cock, daddy? Don’t you?”_

Brett pauses the video and shakes his head. “I can’t be here,” he says to himself as he stands up from the couch. “I gotta go.”

Heads turn to watch Brett with slightly heightened interest as he walks out of the lounge but Brett’s mind blocks everybody out. They’re simply a blur while he tries to find the nearest bathroom to seclude himself in. Hell, his mind isn’t even functioning right now - it’s completely short circuited and now working off his downstairs brain which is surprisingly doing a good job because it steers Brett right to an unoccupied unisex bathroom.

 

He locks the door and rips the headphones out to shove them back into his coat pocket. Brett leans against the wall opposite of the door and goes back into his messages with Aleks so he can call that magnificent Russian twink and figure out what the hell his problem is.

“Aleks’ Meat Market,” Aleks answers. “You can beat my meat, but you can’t beat my prices, how can I help-”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Brett asks.

Aleks furrows his eyebrows and turns onto his stomach on the bed. “What’s wrong, you don’t like your gift?” he asks. “I wore thigh highs. You _like_  thigh highs-”

“I _love_  thigh highs and that’s the problem!” Brett whines and stomps his foot against the tile. “You looked so hot in them and I can’t do anything about it because I’m here and you’re theeere!”

“Just because I’m here and you’re there doesn’t mean you and I can’t have fun,” Aleks argues. “Unless like…” He presses his lips together and swallows, looks down to the bed as he picks at the threads. “Unless you uh, don’t wanna do anything with me, then-”

“No,” Brett says firmly. “I wanna do _everything_  to you. Trust me.”

Did they switch places? Why is Brett the one reassuring Aleks that he definitely wants to fuck him instead of the other way around? It’s surreal to Brett, even after the gloriously hot week they had in Texas, that they’re at this point with each other. He’s not sure what point they’re at but whatever they have isn’t strictly platonic anymore. There’s a sexual element to it now. Only problem is, Brett doesn’t know how sexual.

“But,” Brett begins, “you just… you sent that to me when it’s my first day actually doing work and shit and it sucks because all I can think about is you and Texas, you and _me_  in Texas-”

“Think of it as foreplay for when you come back.” Aleks shrugs.

“When I come back?” Brett furrows his eyebrows together.

“You already fucked me once, don’t see why we can’t do it one more time,” Aleks offers.

“You want me to fuck you again?”

Aleks laughs and rolls onto his back. “I just made a fucking video of me fucking myself, talking about how much I want you to fuck me, and you’re asking that?”

The corner of Brett’s mouth quirks up into a lopsided grin and he looks down to his feet. “There was uh, a lot to process in that video, okay?” he says softly. “My mind’s kind of scattered.”

It _is_  a pretty stupid question to ask but then Brett still can’t get over the surreality of it all, that he can actually express how much he wants to fuck Aleks and not only is it allowed but it’s also encouraged. Christ, he still thinks their first time is a vivid dream but Aleks’ voice, his naturally soft voice that puts Brett at ease, brings him back down to earth and reminds him that yes, they really did have sex.

Aleks really did ride Brett and Brett really did spread his legs to fuck him stupid. They really did trade dirty words and incredibly hot, but empty promises. They don’t really belong to each other but in the moment, the words spilled out and the concept that they belonged to each other made _so much sense._

Brett’s madly crushing on Aleks, after all. So forgive Brett if he still can’t believe that Aleks actually wants to fuck him.

 

“You didn’t tell me what you thought of it, by the way,” Aleks points out.

Brett blows out a breath and looks ahead to the wall across. “Well, I’m hard as hell and now I’m hiding out in a bathroom until it goes down, if that tells you anything.”

“Oooh.” Aleks grins. “It tells me a lot. So you’re all alone, huh?”

“Just me, myself, and this annoying ass hard on I have, yeah.”

“Let’s have some fun,” Aleks says as he rests his hand on top his chest. “What would you do to me right now if-”

 _“No,_ no way,” Brett chuckles nervously and cups the prominent bulge in his jeans. “I wanna get rid of this, and I will, but I’m not gonna jerk off in a public bathroom. Especially while I’m working.”

“Don’t be boring, be adventurous.”

“I’d say I was pretty adventurous when I signed your ass in front of a full crowd on 6th Street.”

“You should keep it up.”

“And I promise you that when I come back, I’ll be extremely adventurous but I’m not jerking off in a public bathroom.”

Aleks purses his lips and looks off to the side, breathing in deeply. “Well uh… there is one thing I can think of that’ll make it go away.”

“Are you for real or are you memeing?”

“I’m for real, 100%.”

“So what’s up?”

Aleks doesn’t answer for a few moments and Brett thinks that maybe Aleks was bluffing and now he’s trying his best to _actually_ think of something to get rid of Brett’s hard on. It’s not like Brett doesn’t have a gallery of gross images to fall back on to keep it at bay but when it comes to something of this magnitude? Brett needs a lot more than that to will this beast down.

“Okay, don’t freak out or anything,” Aleks starts, “but I almost burned down the warehouse today.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Brett exclaims with widened eyes. “How the FUCK-”

“I’m so tiiiiired, Brett,” Aleks yawns. “I’m gonna sleep, okay?”

“What? It’s like, almost 9 PM over there and you’re a fucking nocturnal animal, you are not-”

“I’m glad you liked the gift I made for you,” Aleks interrupts. “I put my heart and soul into it so it means a lot to me, that you like it so much.”

“ALEKSANDR, YOU ALMOST BURNED DOWN-”

“Good night, daddy~” Aleks says in a sickeningly sweet tone. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Aleks-”

_Click._

Brett presses his lips tightly together and hums his discontent rather loudly before he shoves his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. “I’m going to _fucking_  kill him.”

_Kill him with your dick._

“No, I will actually choke him with my bare hands.”

_Don’t you think he’d like that too much?_

“Damnit, I can’t do NOTHIN’,” Brett sighs and looks down to see that his bulge has gone down by a sizable amount, enough that he can just reach in, adjust, then walk right back out, and he will, but he needs a few moments to wonder how the hell he fell for such a chaotic piece of work like Aleks.

 

Aleks is worth it though. He’s worth every damn second… and a burned down warehouse too.

* * *

 

 

After going out with a few other people from the World Cup, Brett retired to his hotel room for the night. While the city of Shanghai isn’t as beautiful as Aleks is when he’s fucking himself, it’s still a sight to behold.

They grabbed dinner and drinks and did a little sightseeing, trading fresh memes and discussing all of the interesting things they’ve witnessed at the arena in between. There was one conversation in peculiar that Brett keeps thinking back on…

_“So how’s Cow Chop working out for you?” asks one of the ladies - Ariel is her name and she too, is an interviewer for the cup._

_“It’s a huge mess,” Brett laughs, “but I’m glad to be apart of it.”_

_“Yeah?” Ariel grins and passes Brett a shot. “I’ve seen a few of the videos, looks like a lot of fun. Which one was Aleks and which one was James again?”_

_“James is the dude that likes wrestling and he’s got the long hair,” Brett explains. “Aleks is the really cute, skinny one with bright blonde hair and the cool tattoos. He lives with me.”_

_Ariel licks along her lips and looks down to the countertop for a few seconds in thought before she looks up to Brett. “Are you and him like a thing?”_

_Brett almost chokes on his shot and presses a hand to his throat in an effort to help it go down. “Uh, me and Aleks?”_

_“Yeah, are you two together?”_

_“No.” Brett chuckles. “Uh, n-no, that’s uh, not happening. It’s not like that with us. We’re just close friends, real close.”_

He neglected to tell her that they’re so close they fucked each other and are apparently going to fuck again when he lands in LA but it’s just one more time. It’s not like they’re gonna be fuckbuddies or anything, though that’s probably for the best because if they keep fucking over and over then Brett’s gonna delude himself into thinking they’ll actually be something! Hahaha!

_Feelings are complicated._

 

Onto less Aleks related news… okay, that’s a lie, it’s all Aleks related news, but Brett just finished watching the newest video that got uploaded, of Joe’s birthday weekend in Austin, and _holy shit,_ he and Aleks were drunk as fuck! Aleks really said they were gonna go back to their hotel room and suck each other’s dicks? And Brett just agreed with him?

… and then they didn’t even do that! Not that night, anyways, that was the next morning.

_“Keep that up, Aleks, yeah.” Brett’s head moves back forward to watch and he groans at the hot sight of his cock widening Aleks’ mouth, how the spit trails down the corners. “Good boy, you’re sucking daddy off so good,” he praises, digging his nails harder into Aleks’ shoulder._

Brett’s dick twitches in his sweatpants and he thinks it’s the start of the saddest erection he’ll ever have.

He sighs through his nose and shakes his head, goes to the Cow Chop subreddit and into the video thread to get a look at the comments. To no surprise, most of the comments are about him and Aleks. The top comment is even “ _With the way these videos are progressing, I won’t be surprised if Aleks and Brett fuck before the end of 2017.”_

Brett widens his eyes and blinks a few times before he very slowly shuts the lid of his laptop.

_Let’s keep it a mystery._

 

After setting his laptop aside on the nightstand, he looks down to assess the situation in his pants. He definitely has a semi and usually it’s something he ignores but he’s alone, Aleks sent him the hottest fucking video earlier, so a quick jerk off session won’t hurt.

The sweatpants and briefs are quickly discarded and then he props his upper body against the many pillows lying against the headboard of the bed. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, Brett goes back into his messages with Aleks and plays the video that Aleks had sent but skips to the part he paused on. There’s still a good amount he hasn’t seen and Brett would be remiss if he didn’t watch the whole thing.

He goes too far in so he scrolls the slider back some for a part he recognizes and then he lets it play.

_“I bet you wanna fuck me, huh?” Aleks breathes as he turns his head to the side, looks back into the camera. “Don’t you wanna fill me up with that thick cock, daddy? Don’t you?” He bites hard on his bottom lip as he takes the dildo out, all the way to the tip, before he roughly shoves it back in with a loud cry of Brett’s name._

With a groan, Brett finally wraps his fingers around his cock and begins to stroke himself at a quick pace. He’s not gonna take his time with this one - he wants to come, get it over with, then maybe watch some stuff on Netflix. Maybe he’ll watch Malcolm in the Middle before those stupid higher ups take it off and why are they doing that anyways, why are they taking away such high quality content??

But Netflix’s poor business practices aren’t the priority in Brett’s mind right now.

_“Remember when you came in me, daddy?” Aleks asks on a breathless edge._

“You felt so good around me, baby,” Brett whispers.

It was the first time Brett had ever came inside anyone and holy fuck, he doesn’t ever wanna go back. He could feel every inch of Aleks clenching around him, those inner walls massaging his shaft with the most pleasurable friction, and he desperately wants to go back to that night. He wants to listen to Aleks call him “daddy” in that high pitched voice again, tell him how good he is at fucking his sweet ass totally bare, _god, I need to fuck him so fucking bad._

_“I want you to fill me up again,” Aleks moans. “I **need** you to fill me up again, daddy, nobody does it like you do.” He shakes his head and slides the dildo back out, smacks the head of it against his hole a few times and throws his head back with a whine. “ **Fuck me,** I’ll even beg for you again if I have to, that’s how much I need it.” _

Brett moans as he quickens his hand, tightens the grip on his shaft and rubs his thumb over the slit of his head. “You’re such a good boy, Aleks,” he breathes. “You’re _my_  good boy.”

_After a few moments of trailing the toy up and down the crack of his ass, Aleks pushes it back in with a long, satisfying mewl and his eyes flutter shut. His mouth falls open and he lids his eyes open as well to look back into the camera, slowly licking along his lips. “This ass belongs to you,” Aleks tells him. “I’ll let you do whatever you want to it, just as long as you make sure that cock belongs to me.”_

“Anything you fucking want,” Brett growls through gritted teeth. “Just say it, I’ll do it.”

But the video ends there. Brett is, understandably, frustrated, but he has an active imagination so he can fill in the rest of the blanks.

 

Brett slams his eyes shut and lets the phone fall from his hands and onto the bed. He tries to imagine what the video would be like if he was there with Aleks, if he walked in on him after it was filmed.

He can imagine himself taking that dildo out of Aleks’ hands and throwing it to the other side of the room.

He can imagine spanking Aleks’ ass and hearing the gorgeous cry that’ll no doubt leave his pretty mouth afterwards.

He can imagine himself undoing his jeans enough to take out his cock and…

_“What are you doing fucking yourself when I’m right here?” Brett asks as he grabs Aleks’ hands, forces them against the wall before he rests a hand on top of his ass, grabs ahold of his own shaft with the other. “Am I not good enough anymore?”_

_“You’re **perfect,** daddy,” Aleks moans as Brett rubs the head of his cock up and down against his hole. “I wouldn’t have fucked myself if I knew you were here, I- oh god, Brett…” he whines while Brett pushes inside, all the way to the hilt, and he shudders as Brett groans against his ear. _

_“That’s right, moan my name,” Brett whispers into his ear as he snakes his hands around to rest on the front of Aleks’ thighs, right where his thigh highs end, and he curls his fingers into the black threading. “By the time I get done fucking you, my name’s the only thing you’re gonna remember, I promise.”_

_“Then fuck me, **please** ,” Aleks whines again and gyrates his hips. “Stop making me wait for - fuck!” He shouts and cries out as Brett immediately begins to hammer away, balls harshly slapping against his ass with each hard thrust. _

Brett’s breathing quickens and grows thicker the closer he gets to the edge and he brings up his free hand to grab the top of the headboard, digging his nails into the wood to keep him anchored.

_“Who do you belong to?” Brett asks. “Say it.”_

_“Brett! I belong to **you** , Brett!” Aleks cries. “Oh my god, I’m yours, Brett, please, just don’t stop, please, please-” _

_“Shhh,” Brett shushes as he clamps a hand over Aleks’ throat, smirks at the high pitched gasp Aleks releases. “I’m gonna fuck you all night, baby, until you can’t fucking take it anymore.”_

This point in his fantasy is, coincidentally, the point in real life where Brett can’t take it anymore. The pleasure grows to a threshold that’s too much for him to stave off and after taking a deep breath, after a few more strokes, Brett’s hand slows down to a steady pace and with a long, low groan, Brett’s load pumps out of his length and ladens his torso in a white mess. He keeps pumping his cock until every single drop has been milked and then he wipes his hand off on the comforter, threads the other one back through his hair and closes his eyes so he can relax in the euphoric post orgasm bliss.

Yeah, he definitely has to fuck Aleks when he comes back to LA. As soon as he and Aleks are alone, he’s going to pounce like a bitch in heat. There’s no doubt in his mind about it.

 

Brett’s eyes blink a few times before they open wide for the whole world to clearly come back into focus. He looks down to his side at his discarded phone and picks it up, runs his thumb along the screen with furrowed eyebrows in contemplation. Brett looks down to the white beads over his torso and with a small grin, he grabs ahold of his slowly softening cock with the other hand as he turns on the camera, aiming it at the mess to snap a picture - for Aleks’ eyes only.

He sends it over but it’s not without a rather appropriate caption.

 

 **[Himself]** Wish you were here to lick this off like the good boy I know that you are.

 

Even if Aleks almost did burn down the warehouse, _WHICH WE STILL NEED TO TALK ABOUT, ALEKSANDR!!,_ he’ll always be a good boy in Brett’s eyes and when Brett finally gets his hands on Aleks again, he’s gonna let him know all about it.

… though it might not be without some fun at Aleks’ expense first.

 


	28. All Systems Aligned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks finally tries to give Brett's office that makeover it so desperately needs, all while he tries to help his best friend with his crush. He only succeeds in the former.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for reading my fic!! I love and appreciate every single one of you <3
> 
> QUICK EDIT: Also, after giving it more thought, I want to make this a double upload week so come back this Friday for Chapter 29!

**** **July 14th, 2017**

 

Aleks just woke up from a wet dream.

Except he didn’t come at all.

Well, he was real close but as soon as Brett choked him in just the right way, his body must’ve registered it as him actually being choked so that’s why he’s currently sitting up against the headboard of his bed, still wearing those thigh highs (they’re actually quite comfortable!) and Brett’s shirt.

As for underwear, he decided to go commando for bed tonight. It’s not like he has to keep too many clothes on when he’s currently the only person in the house. It also means that when he looks down, his erection is in plain sight.

Aleks rolls his eyes with a sigh.

He really wants to go back to sleep but he’d rather get rid of this first, otherwise it’d be uncomfortable. His hand begins to move down, until he hears his phone vibrating, then it diverts to grab that instead so he can see which dumb fuck is messaging him at 5 in the morning.

But it’s not a dumb fuck at all! In fact, he’s a hot fuck! And he gave Aleks a hot fuck about a week ago!!

That’s right, it’s the arguably manliest man in all of Los Angeles...

_Brett!!!_

 

Aleks beams as he opens Brett’s message but when he sees exactly what the contents are, he frowns and a small whine makes it past his lips.

 

 **[Brett]** Wish you were here to lick this off like the good boy I know that you are.

 

Oh man, he would lick up every single drop and he’d do it so happily! Aleks still remembers, quite clearly, how Brett tasted - completely salty and the musk was the tiniest bit overwhelming but that’s Brett’s unique taste so Aleks wouldn’t mind doing it again, and again, and again, until he gets sick of it, but he doubts he’d ever get sick of doing anything with or for Brett.

_Why does he have to be all the way over there when I’m… wait a minute._

If Brett just sent this, that means he’s awake! And Aleks doesn’t wanna be awake but he is so he’s going to take advantage of this window of opportunity much like he did earlier last night. Who knew time differences could be so fun?

Aleks wraps his fingers around his shaft and slowly begins to pump at it while his other fingers open Brett’s contact to call him. Thankfully for Aleks, Brett wastes no time at all in picking up the phone and as soon as he greets him, Aleks releases a long, sensual sounding moan into the phone receiver.

 

“I had a dream about you, daddy,” Aleks moans.

Brett blinks a few times and then he swipes his tongue along his lips. “Oh uh, you did? You wanna uh, tell me about it?”

“You were fucking me from behind,” Aleks breathes and quickens the pace, releases another moan, “and you were in me so deep, like balls fucking deep, and it felt so good.”

“... wait, are you jerking off right now?” Brett asks.

Brett’s adorable when he’s caught off guard, he really is. It’s why teasing him is so fun, because Aleks gets the best reactions every time. Granted, he hasn’t been teasing him long but he’s done it quite a bit since that fateful morning and there’s no signs of stopping anytime soon. It’s his absolute favorite thing to do to Brett. Then again, so is everything else.

It’d be like asking Aleks what the favorite breath he ever took was. He doesn’t have one and then it’s a stupid question because breathing is necessary, just like teasing Brett, kissing Brett, calling Brett while he jerks off, is necessary.

“I woke up hard so I have to get rid of it somehow, right?” Aleks smacks his lips together and looks up at the ceiling, licks along his lips. “You gonna be a good daddy and help me get off?”

Brett breathes in deeply and closes his eyes briefly, opening them on the exhale. He bites down on his lips, drums his fingers against his thigh before a grin slowly graces his face. “Okay,” he says. “So what do you want daddy to do?”

“I wanna know if you finally jerk off to that video I sent you. Did you really like it, daddy?”

“I did and I loved it,” Brett tells him. “Every single second, baby.”

Aleks moans and lids his eyes shut, lowers himself totally on the bed. “I meant every word,” he says as he squeezes his shaft harder, gathers up the precome to make it easier for his hand to slide up and down. “I can’t wait for you to come back and fuck me.”

Preferably, he wants Brett to fuck him over and over and over again until he’s begging for Brett to stop but getting Brett to fuck him that one night was already a miracle. The fact that they’re fucking again, well, that was an astronomical chance. But for them to keep this thing going and be like, fuckbuddies? That’s just impossible.

Doesn’t mean Aleks won’t at least try to discuss it with Brett when he comes back but he’s not gonna be surprised if Brett keeps it to a one time (er, two time) thing.

 

“And Brett,” Aleks breathes, “I want-”

“Shhh, just close your eyes, okay?” Brett says softly. “You let me do all the work.”

Aleks closes his eyes with a nod and sets the phone in between his ear and shoulder so he can bring that hand down to rest over his chest, splaying the fingers out and rubbing his thumb back and forth against his nipple with a moan.

“When I come back, I’m gonna take my sweet time with you,” Brett tells him. “I’m gonna make a whole night of it, just worshipping your body...” He smacks his lips and runs the tip of his tongue along the upper lip before he runs his teeth against the bottom. “And then I’m gonna ruin every single fucking thing about it.”

“Destroy me,” Aleks pleads. “Just fucking wreck me, please.”

“Daddy’s going to make sure that happens,” Brett assures. “I promise, I’ll fuck you harder than anybody’s ever fucked you before.”

And Aleks believes it too, without a sliver of doubt, because Brett’s already fucked him harder than anybody else has. He’s fucked him so much better than everybody else too and sure, Aleks didn’t come untouched like he might have had with one or two others but that didn’t mean his orgasm wasn’t earth shattering and thigh trembling. Even if his orgasm wasn’t entirely great (but rest assured, it was), Aleks is still thinking about their sex almost a week later whereas with anybody else, the sex is easily cast aside.

Aleks has always been a big fan of sex, always considered himself to harbor a high sex drive, but he’s never been so horny in his life all off one instance of fucking. That has to take some serious skill and Brett uh, you know, he _definitely_  has it. Serious skill, that is. Along with a whole slew of other things that makes sex this electrifying, ethereal experience.

 

“I wanna be your good boy, daddy,” Aleks gasps as the pleasure begins to build up. “I have to be a good boy if you say you’re gonna fuck me hard, right?”

Brett furrows his eyebrows and grins, tilts his head to the side and asks, “are you a good boy though?”

Aleks’ eyes lid open and his face contorts as the confusion scrawls itself over his features. “Y-Yeah?” he answers in a relatively normal tone. “Of course I am.”

“You are?” Brett asks. “Do good boys burn down the warehouse?”

His hand slows down to a stop and Aleks rolls his eyes with a disgruntled sigh. “Brett, can we talk about that after I come-”

“Do you really deserve to come though?” Brett asks. “Only good boys can come and uh, you’ve been real bad today.”

“You think I’m not gonna come just because you say?”

“If you want me to fuck you again, yeah.”

Aleks swallows, rolls his lips back between his teeth, and looks down to his painfully hard cock. The pleasure that’s built in his stomach is much more apparent to Aleks now that he’s no longer jerking his length and it’s becoming rather uncomfortable. Who the hell is Brett to tell him that he has to wait until they fuck to come again?

… the idea is actually pretty hot, but it’s in Aleks’ nature to put up a fight. It’s just like Brett told him a few days ago, _sometimes you just like to be difficult._

“How would you know if I come or not?” Aleks challenges.

“Hmm, interesting.” Brett clears his throat and then, in a much more firm tone, he asks, “do you really wanna test that?”

Though Aleks is starting to find out that he can never put up a fight with Brett for long. Brett knows just how to deal with him, knows what to say and what to do so Aleks can do his bidding instead of the other way around. Believe it or not, Aleks doesn’t find it frustrating at all - he actually likes the fact that he’s met his match.

 

Aleks slams his eyes shut and takes his hand off his erection with a huff to grab his phone. “Fine, I won’t do it.”

Brett chuckles. “There, now you’re on track to being a good boy again.”

“But you shouldn’t come until we fuck again either.”

Brett actually laughs and he shakes his head as he climbs off the bed. “Uh, I’m not the one that almost burned down the warehouse. I’m not the one being punished.”

“But think about how much you’ll be able to fill me up,” Aleks reasons with a grin. “Doesn’t that sound like, really hot?”

“You really have a thing with being full,” Brett notes as he grabs his discarded clothes from the floor to toss onto the bed. “You’re kind of a come dumpster.”

_What the fuck did he just fucking call me?_

With widened eyes, Aleks sits up on the bed and raises an index finger, like Brett can see. “Never _ever_  call me that again.”

“What about come slut?”

Aleks bites at his lip and looks up at the ceiling in contemplation. “It’s… better. But I’d rather just be called a plain ol’ slut.”

He hates having come anywhere on his body because it’s such a fucking mess and it’s sticky and it makes Aleks feel dirty, not the fun kind either, but being filled with it? That’s a different story, one that he wishes he knew how to properly tell but all he knows is that it feels amazing. There’s nothing he likes more than the feeling of being full and knowing somebody is completely inside him, as close to him as they can possibly get.

Huffing through his nose, Brett smirks and sets the phone in between his ear and shoulder so he can proceed to put on his briefs and sweatpants. “But you’re not a plain ol’ slut,” Brett argues. “You’re a sexy slut.” He looks ahead at the wall and with a lowered voice, he goes on to say “you’re daddy’s sexy slut, aren’t you?”

As for being called slut? Aleks doesn’t have an explanation for that - he just thinks it sounds really fucking hot and he hates it because he can’t do anything about it!

Aleks squeezes his thighs together with a small hum and closes his eyes tightly. “Don’t call me that, I can’t even jerk off right now so it’s just mean when you say shit like that.”

“Oh shit, you actually like being called that?” Brett chuckles and climbs back onto the bed. “I’ll uh, I’ll remember that when I see you again. But we can talk about regular stuff too. You know, just because I’m away, doesn’t mean you have to send me just sex stuff. It can be regular shit like we always do.”

Lying back down, Aleks opens his eyes with a shrug. “I don’t wanna bother you,” he explains. “And I doubt sexts and shit will bother you, so-”

“But you’re not bothering me,” Brett says softly. “You’re never bothering me.”

Aleks sighs and tells him, “yeah, okay, but you still don’t have a lot of time to talk anyways because you’re super busy-”

“So I’ll make time for you then,” Brett promises. “You’ll never be bothering me and yeah, I might be away, I might be busy, but you’re still like, pretty high on my list of priorities.” He raises his eyebrows and asks, in a hopeful tone, “do you believe me?”

Aleks swipes his tongue along his lips and rests his free hand on top his stomach, looking down to watch as his fingers drum away bouts of anxiety.

“In that video you sent me?” Brett recounts. “You said you missed me.”

“I do,” Aleks confesses in a pitch above a whisper.

“I miss you too,” Brett tells him with a mirrored pitch. “A lot. You have no idea, Aleks,” Brett chuckles, “how much I miss you.”

Aleks’ fingers dig into the black fabric of his shirt and it wrings the material together as a smile graces his face. It’s small and it barely makes a dent but Aleks’ body is completely drowning in waves of unmitigated joy and even though Brett is on the other side of the world, Aleks feels closer to him than he’s ever been before.

 

“So do you believe me?” Brett asks. “You can text me whenever you want? And you won’t be bothering me? I can’t say I’ll reply right away but just know that like, you’ve been on my mind constantly since I’ve been gone.”

“I believe you,” Aleks assures. “And Brett?”

“Yeah?”

Aleks bites at his lips, thinking over what he wants to say and whether it’s appropriate but considering Brett just expressed his sentiment, he figures there’s no harm in confessing to Brett, “you’ve been on my mind a lot too.”

* * *

 

 

**July 17th, 2017**

 

 **[Himself]** What if I gave your office a makeover?

 **[Brett]** what if you didn’t give my office a makeover?

 **[Himself]** So you won’t mind if I turn up your office a little?

 

That’s right, today is finally the day Aleks sets _Operation Extreme Office Makeover_ into action! He’s going to go on Amazon today and start ordering all the coolest and latest office decorations so Brett can have the most lit office in LA! Aleks thinks the best way to make it over is to turn it into the raddest fusion of Australian and Chinese flavor - it’ll be like Brett never left these places at all!

Also, there’s going to be a pretty neat Machinima logo painted on a wall in his office, though that was James’ idea. Aleks doesn’t really wanna fuck with that because he’s not a painter so he enlisted the help of Brett’s musician friend, who happens to have other creative pursuits as well. Neato! What could possibly go wr-

 

“I don’t trust that guy,” James says into Aleks’ ear.

“What guy?” Aleks asks before it quickly clicks together. “Oh, Steve? Burger Money?”

“Yeah, I don’t like his vibe.”

“What vibe?” Aleks chuckles and looks up from his phone to James. “He’s Brett’s friend, what’s the problem?”

“He just…” James presses his lips together and crosses his arms over his chest. “I dunno, he’s kind of intruding in other people’s space.”

James is looking away from Aleks so Aleks decides to follow his eyesight. He takes a step back and follows James’ line of vision and at the other end is Lindsey, who seems to be having a rather animated conversation with Steve. She’s enjoying it too if her laughs are anything to go by. He’s making Lindsey pretty happy so why would James- _ohhh._

Aleks grins and shoves his phone into his pocket. “What’s wrong?” he asks. “Don’t like the competition?”

James clears his throat and looks down to the ground. “I dunno what you’re talking about,” he mumbles as he kicks against the ground.

“Uh huh, sure,” Aleks mumbles.

_Buzz buzz._

 

Aleks reaches into his pocket to take out his phone and when he sees that Brett has messaged back, the biggest of smiles involuntarily widens his mouth and he quickly texts back - he’d hate to leave Brett waiting.

 

 **[Brett]** you’re going to do it anyways so it doesn’t matter what my answer is

 **[Himself]** You know me well, Brettzle Stick.

 

“Who’s it from?” James asks as he walks over to Aleks. “Is it from your _boooyfriend?”_ He laughs when Aleks punches his shoulder and then he goes on to ask, “by the way, did you take my advice?”

With a blush, Aleks asks “what advice?” and shoves his phone back into his pocket.

“Of sending him unsolicited dick pics?”

“I didn’t send dick pics,” Aleks answers. Then he smirks, waggles his eyebrows, and clarifies, “I sent something even _better.”_

James raises his eyebrows and grins. “Yeah? How did Brett take it?”

Aleks shrugs and stretches his arms out above his head. “Well, he says he’s gonna fuck me hard when he gets back to LA so, I mean, I think he took it pretty well.”

James blinks a few times and grimaces. His nose wrinkles and he holds up both his hands before telling Aleks, “you could’ve just told me the last part.”

“Aww, are you jealous that Brett has me and you don’t?” Aleks asks as he lowers his arms, reaching a hand over to rest on James’ chest. “Come on…” He leans in and rests the other hand on James’ chest, looking into his eyes. “You know you’re still my first,” he teases.

James rolls his eyes and shakes his head with a small grin as he grabs Aleks’ hand. “You know what, yeah, I’m a bit jealous but it’s because you’re getting lucky and I’m not.” He gives Aleks a pointed look and then he looks back up to stare off into where he was looking before and Aleks turns his head to follow his eyesight, back to Lindsey and Steve.

He really does have a thing for Lindsey, doesn’t he? Why else would he be so annoyed over seeing the two of them talk to each other, laughing and giggling like they’re the only two in the room? Now that he really thinks about it, he and Lindsey would be pretty cute together and Aleks is in full support. Honestly, Aleks is in support of anything that concerns the pursuit of love and happiness.

As James’ best friend, it’s his duty to help them hook up. He’s going to be the wingman James didn’t know he needed.

 

Steve gives her a wink and he shakes her hand before he leaves her office space. When he leaves her personal vicinity, he notices Aleks and James and furrows his eyebrows, pointing back and forth between the two. “Brett always told me you two were pretty close but I didn’t think-”

“Yup, Aleks is mine.” James nods and wraps an arm around Aleks’ waist. “You can’t have him.”

_He can’t have Lindsey either, apparently._

Aleks wraps the both of his arms around James’ waist and looks over to Steve with a nod. “Yup, we’re together,” he replies in monotone. “Been going on like, 4 years, right?” he asks as he looks to James.

“4 long years, yup.” James nods and looks down to Aleks. “You’re uh, the love of my life. _Babe.”_

It feels like he and James have known each other for so much longer with everything they’ve been through together. They’re on closely riding wavelengths the majority of the time and they might not have been as close with each other since coming to LA but they’re still the best of friends - they just have incredibly different interests. Whereas James wants to go to the horse races, Aleks wants to go to expensive pool parties and make out with hot older dudes.

Not just any hot older dude though. They need to have warm brown eyes and a neatly trimmed beard and an awesome dick game… and they need to be incredibly sweet with a sharp tongue. Aleks’ standards have increased substantially from just _“hot guy with big dick”_ in the past few months.

 

Aleks puts on the sappiest smile he can muster and then he leans in to kiss James square on the lips before he gives Steve his attention again. As James wipes off his lips with the back of his hand, Aleks asks Steve, “so what’s going on with you and Lindsey?”

Steve beams and looks back to her, beaming brighter when Lindsey makes eye contact and when Lindsey smiles, he gives her a wave before he looks back to Aleks. “Uh, nothing,” he replies honestly. “We’re just good friends.”

“Good friends, huh?” Aleks laughs and reaches his hand up to pinch James’ cheek. “I remember when me and my _Jamesbear_  here were saying that to each other, isn’t that right?”

James closes his eyes and wrinkles his nose. “That’s right.”

Aleks hums and lets go of his cheek. “It always starts with being good friends and then it turns into something more. But those are the best kinds of relationships, I think.”

Steve shakes his head and holds up a hand. “Nah, it’s not like that with me and her. She’s like a sister to me.”

“Sure are close with your sister,” James mumbles.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’, just talking to myself.” James clears his throat. “Hey uh, babe, can I talk to you?”

“Ooh.” Aleks waggles his eyebrows and looks to Steve with a wink. “That’s his code for-”

“ALEKSANDR.”

Aleks chuckles and allows James to turn them around to lead them into Brett’s office. “Lead the way, babe.”

What is James pulling him aside for? Is he actually going to tell Aleks about his feelings for Lindsey and stop hiding behind a tough facade? Can you imagine denying strong feelings for somebody instead of just acknowledging them and coming to terms with it?

_I’m glad I can’t relate._

 

Once they’re inside the solitude of Brett’s messy office, Aleks swipes a few items off the seat of the couch so he can sit. “Alright, my dude, what was that all about?” he asks.

“Yeah, so uh, dude, listen, I kind of like somebody in the office-”

Aleks gasps and widens his eyes. “Oh my god, is it me?!” he exclaims. “Are we finally doing this?”

James narrows his eyes into slits and he presses his lips together, crosses his arms over his chest. “You know who it is, don’t you?”

Aleks chuckles and nods as he spreads his arms out on the back of the couch. “It’s fucking Lindsey, dude, you’re so obvious. Go ask her out.”

“You think I should?” James asks as he looks out the door, all the way to Lindsey minding her own business at her desk. “What if she hit it off with that Steve guy?”

“What if she didn’t?” Aleks gives James a knowing look.

James sighs, looks back to Aleks, and notes the look Aleks is giving him before he looks down to the ground. “It’s been awhile since I’ve asked out a girl,” he says softly as he wades through the mess to sit on top the arm of the couch. “What if she says no?”

“It’s interesting how you tell me to just sext Brett and tell him that I want more but when it comes to yourself, you’re doing like, the exact opposite,” Aleks comments.

“But with you two, it’s just sex, and with me and Lindsey…” James crosses his arms over his chest and rests his head back against the wall. “There’s actually feelings involved. It’s different.”

“When you ask her out, it doesn’t have to be a date,” Aleks tells him. “It can just be a friend thing. Then just build up from there, at least you’d be hanging out with her.”

It’s why Aleks is glad that Brett told him he can text him for reasons that aren’t sexual and since that morning, they haven’t done anything sexual together. They’ve been texting each other like normal, the only difference being that sometimes they reference that night but it’s all in joking tense. It’s casual and it’s just the way Aleks likes it.

It really isn’t as complicated as he thought it would be. The sex hasn’t negatively affected their friendship in the slightest and in actuality, it’s brought them closer together. Every single time, Aleks has worried but at the end of it… he wonders what the hell he was worried about in the first place.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right,” James sighs. “You know something, Aleks?”

“What’s up, dude?”

“I wish dating and all that wasn’t scary.”

Aleks sighs and looks down to the phone in his pocket, which still hasn’t buzzed with any notification at all. “Trust me, I feel the same way.”

_He’s busy. I’m on his mind. I’m a priority. It’s cool._

James yawns and hops off the arm of the couch before he rolls up the sleeves to his jacket. “I’ll probably ask her before the end of the day, we’ll see what happens.”

 _“Probably_  ask her,” Aleks repeats.

“Better than me doin’ shit all,” James chuckles and walks over to the door.

“Yo!” Aleks calls out. “Are we still dating when you leave this office?”

“Naw.” James shakes his head and looks over to Aleks as he opens the door. “We’re breaking up.”

“What kind of relationship was that?” Aleks asks. “We didn’t even get to fuck each other, dawg.”

James grins, leans in to loudly whisper, “yeah, because you’ve been busy fucking  _Brett,”_ and then he closes the door behind him to go to Lindsey’s desk.

Aleks huffs a breath through his nose and shakes his head, watching his best friend attempt to talk to the new lady in his life before his phone vibrates.

_BRETT ALERT, BRETT ALERT._

 

His hands scramble quickly to take out his phone and he’s relieved to see that yes, it’s just who he thought it was. Brett must be on a break because he’s texting back with rapid succession and Aleks is on an impromptu break of his own so he responds back with equal haste.

 

 **[Brett]** i’d say people tend to know each other pretty well after hot sex, yeah

 **[Himself]** Does that mean we’ll know each other’s deepest, darkest secrets the next time we fuck?

 **[Brett]** i don’t need to fuck you again to tell you that i’ve been a werewolf this whole time.

 **[Himself]** That’s not a deep or dark secret, that’s a HOT secret.

 **[Brett]** hahaha i’ll be sure to have the fursuit ready the next time i see you ;)

 **[Himself]** I’ll be waiting with open arms. And open legs.

 **[Brett]** :/

 **[Himself]** … and an open asshole?

 **[Brett]** you’re lucky i miss you. a whole lot.

 

Aleks smiles and turns to lie his head back against the pile of merch and toys on the couch, his legs hanging off the arm. He reads over the last message a few times and makes sure it’s ingrained in his head before he responds back with something akin to Brett’s sentiment.

 

 **[Himself]** Same. I can’t wait to see you again.

* * *

 

 

**July 19th, 2017**

 

Steve came by yesterday to paint the Machinima logo on the wall so Aleks had to wait for that to dry off before he could actually set forth on decorating Brett’s office, as well as waiting for his stuff from Amazon to ship over - god bless that two day shipping!

While it is true that this office makeover is being filmed for channel content, Aleks genuinely wants to make it nicer and when Brett comes back, he’s going to appreciate it. The office won’t be so messy, the papers will be organized neatly on his desk, and it’ll have a bit of personality to it that isn’t just _“typical office, nothing to see here”._

… okay, so all of the Australian and Chinese flair is sort of a prank on Brett but Aleks has to keep it interesting. He can’t have the viewers think he’s making over Brett’s office out of the pure kindness in his heart! That’s not fun! That’s _sappy,_ who the fuck wants to see that?

Aleks’ stuff arrived on time today but there’s still a few more things he has in mind for Brett’s office so he and James are taking a quick trip to Chinatown together to grab some more items. It was originally supposed to be a trip between him and James but right as they were leaving, they bumped into Lindsey and oh, isn’t that funny? She wanted to come along too! So now Lindsey has joined them, much to their enjoyment - though James and Aleks appreciate her presence in different contexts.

 

“Lindsey uh,” James scratches the back of his neck, “those earrings look really nice on you.”

“Thank you!” Lindsey smiles brightly and flips her hair back before she holds a hand behind her earing. “My grandma gave them to me a few months ago but I just got around to wearing them!”

“Your grandma has good taste,” James chuckles.

“Yeah, she’s actually like really good when it comes to fashion and stuff,” Lindsey explains. “She-”

_Buzz buzz._

 

All three of them take out their phones. James sets his phone back into his pocket with no fanfare, Aleks frowns a little before he puts his phone back as well, and Lindsey smiles as she opens the notification on hers.

“Who uh, who is it?” James asks.

“Steeeve,” Lindsey answers as her thumbs tap away. “He wants to grab dinner tonight and catch up.”

James presses his lips together and after taking a deep breath, he turns around to grab some random paper lanterns from a shelf. “These would look good in Brett’s office, right?” he asks.

“Uh… yeah,” Aleks says without looking at the lanterns at all. “Linds, you and him are good friends, right?”

“Mmhm.” Lindsey nods. “We’re friends but I think we have that like, will they, won’t they thing going on, you know?” she says before shoving her phone back into her purse. “We should get some colored lights for Brett’s office, I really think that’d liven the place up.”

Aleks looks over to James with widened eyes and motions to Lindsey with his hand as he mouths, _ask her out!_

James’ eyes widen as well and he shakes his head before mouthing, _no!!!_

Aleks rolls his eyes and mouths back, _pussy!_

“Are you guys okay?” Lindsey asks, looking back and forth between the two. “You two have been acting like, real funny lately.”

“Yeah, me and Aleks fucked each other at RTX and things haven’t been the same since,” James says in monotone as he grabs another lantern.

Lindsey widens her eyes at James and Aleks narrows his into a glare, shaking his head and raising his middle finger.

Aleks doesn’t get why James doesn’t just ask Lindsey out! What’s the worst that can happen? If he asked her out like a friend, like Aleks _told_   _him to do a few days ago,_ it’d be easy so why isn’t he just… doing that! It’s so simple! It’s not like with him and Brett where the obstacle is Brett’s preconceived notions of professionalism. Lindsey and James don’t seem to give a shit about that at all so there’s literally nothing holding them back besides James and his fear of rejection.

Anyways, how dare James make light of him and Brett fucking each other! That’s nothing to joke about! There’s nothing funny about the way Brett fucked him, or what Brett said to him, or every fucking thing else he did to Aleks that night, unless it’s funny because of how hot it was because then James would have nailed it right on the head.

 

“You and Aleks fucked?” she asks. “And you didn’t tape it for the channel?”

“No, James wishes we fucked,” Aleks says.

“Aleksandr,” James starts, “you-”

“Hold on a second.” Aleks raises a finger to James’ lips and with a grin, he says, “Lindsey, listen, we should go out to a club when Brett gets back. You, me, him, and James?”

“I’m not a big fan of clubs,” James mumbles.

_I’M TRYING TO HELP! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!_

“Awww, you’re just not having fun with the right people!” Lindsey tells James as she gently swats his shoulder. “I love clubs, you should come along! You’ll at least have fun with me.”

James rubs at the spot Lindsey touched and presses his fingertips hard into the material. “Uh, y-yeah, okay. That’s uh, that’s cool then. Me and you, Brett and Aleks-”

“Brett and Aleks especially.” Lindsey smirks and continues down the aisle and James and Aleks follow suit. James shares her smirk but Aleks’ lips have pursed over to the side in slight confusion.

“Especially?” he asks. “What does that mean?”

“You guys have just uh, been close.” Lindsey nods. “We talked about it, remember?

Aleks’ cheeks tint red and he runs his fingers back through his hair. “Yeah, I do, but you’re making it sound like it’s something more.”

Lindsey makes it sound like they could be like… _boyfriends._ The thought of that is laughable because it took all of Aleks’ strength to convince Brett to fuck him so god knows how much power it’d take to tell Brett that dating wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

That is, if Aleks wanted that with Brett.

And he doesn’t.

It has nothing to do with Brett at all. Aleks just… he… well, he doesn’t feel like that for him and that’s that!

_He’d never like me like that anyways._

_Buzz buzz._

 

Everybody checks their phones again. James, again, puts it away with no fanfare, Lindsey sighs through her nose before putting hers away, and Aleks’ face lights up as he swipes open the attachment Brett sent him.

It’s probably something he shouldn’t have opened in a public place but Aleks is up against a shelf so there’s no way-

“Why do you have a shirtless picture of Brett on your phone?” Lindsey asks as Aleks quickly holds the phone to his chest.

“I don’t,” Aleks answers quickly, his cheeks tinting more red when James starts chuckling. “It’s just… I-I don’t.” He furrows his eyebrows at Lindsey as he very slowly tilts his phone back up, looks down to scan the picture again.

It’s actually _kind of_  safe.

It’s a shirtless picture of Brett in front of the mirror and he’s got a towel hung low on his hips. Lindsey must’ve saw the top half of the picture, thank fucking god, because if she saw everything else, she’d _really_  begin to ask questions.

 

 **[Brett]**  remember when we showered together and you begged for me? :)

 

Aleks sighs and shoves his phone away, turning around to grab a random item from the shelf before he continues on down.

_I really need to do my citizenship._

“Does Brett’s office really need a plastic scorpion?” Lindsey asks with an amused grin.

Aleks raises his eyebrows and looks down to his hand to see that yes, that is indeed what he grabbed, and he’s going to roll with it. He shrugs and answers, “yeah, of course it needs a scorpion, you plebeian.”

“Yup, I’m a pleb,” Lindsey repeats softly. “So I guess Brett was the one that texted you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“He hasn’t really texted me at all since he left for the World Cup.” Lindsey shrugs. “I don’t mind it, I just think it’s good that he’s talking to at least one of us.”

“He hasn’t texted you?” Aleks blinks over to James. “Has Brett texted you?”

James purses his lips and shakes his head. “Nope. Just you, dude.”

Aleks blinks a few times and looks up at the ceiling, smiling as he turns on his heel to continue down the aisle.

Lindsey and James watch Aleks go and they both cross their arms over their chests.

“He’s oblivious,” Lindsey says.

“Yeah,” James drawls. “Some people just uh, can’t see what’s in front of ‘em.”

 

But Aleks has no idea what they’re even talking about. They could be discussing world domination for all he knows and Aleks’ mind would tune it out because, much like he’s first priority in Brett’s mind, Brett’s the first priority in his. Brett texts him and the whole world blocks itself out, every sight, every single person, they all cease to be a facet in his mind.

Aleks just wants Brett. Everybody else can take a backseat.


	29. Firing On All Cylinders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett finally comes back home.

**** **Rewind: March 11th, 2017**

 

While Brett might not ever know the moment Aleks took ahold of his life and turned him into a near lustful shell of a man, he does know the specific moment where he looked at Aleks and thought _“I wish he could be mine”._

They had just finished up their signings at the Rooster Teeth booth. As expected, there were some cringey fans but that’s just the way of life here at PAX East. PAX conventions bring out the most interesting groups of people but among the cringe were some decent fans with cool gifts and one girl (Indi was her name) was kind enough to gift Brett a scarf so he can bear the Boston weather! She gifted Cow Chop with some neat fanart as well, laminated neatly, and it’s clear she took precious time with all of it.

Once they have their interaction with the last fan, Brett and Aleks decide to sneak out of the convention for about an hour to grab something quick to eat. The convention building was relatively warm so the piercing chill he and Aleks feel once they step outside is quite a jarring juxtaposition to all the coziness the convention provided.

Despite the freezing temperatures, it _is_ rather beautiful outside. The city and streets of Boston are blanketed in snow and the flakes are steadily falling, adding onto the piles and creating new ones on top the dirty sidewalks. The flakes cover the dirt, the cracks, any imperfections the eye can see - the cold is simply a price to pay for this beauty to be possible.

 

Aleks coughs into his black gloved hand and Brett looks over at his face, as white as snow. The lightness of his skin contrasts with the darkness of his hair that pokes out from under his gray beanie but Brett thinks they complement each other.

There’s not an undesirable quality to Aleks at all. Every feature on his face comes together to create this prefabricated picture of, what Brett thinks, is natural beauty, and it rivals that of their metropolitan winter wonderland.

“So where do you wanna eat?” Aleks asks as he walks down the sidewalk, rubbing his hands together. “Are we getting something quick or are we actually gonna sit down?”

“It’s up to you, dude, I’m just hungry,” Brett answers. “How’re you feeling?” he asks as he adjusts the scarf around his neck, admiring the softness.

Aleks shrugs and shoves his hands into his blue and white colorblock hoodie. “Better than yesterday. Thanks for going out of your way for me.”

“Can’t have any sick employees under my watch, I need you working every single second, you hear me?” Brett chuckles and nudges Aleks’ shoulder. “No, I don’t mind going out of my way for you. Wish you’d be 100% but at least you’re not like, throwing up again.”

“Yeah, I did a lot of that last night,” Aleks says. “Felt better afterwards though. Only time in my life I’ll be thankful for having a sensitive gag reflex.”

Brett chuckles lowly and looks over to Aleks, biting down on his lips before he looks back forward. “Speaking of… did you message that guy from Grindr? How did he take it?”

Aleks might not have gone out with his Grindr match up but Brett found some luck with a twink who messaged him after he left Aleks’ hotel room yesterday. The dude was 10 years younger than him and was really insistent on calling Brett daddy the entire time, which Brett had absolutely no problems with, and the dude had no problems with being daddy’s sexy slut - 8/10 matchup, would do again!

“He uh, he blocked me,” Aleks says with a grin. “Fucking pussy, right?”

While Brett’s bummed that Aleks didn’t have as much good luck as he did, he feels kind of… he wouldn’t say he’s happy about it but he’s sort of relieved? If a dude like that is going to block Aleks because he had the audacity to get sick, he doesn’t deserve him.

“What did he think was gonna happen? You get over there, suck his dick, vomit all over it?”

“Maybe he’s into that shit.” Aleks shrugs. “There’s a kink for everything.”

“If he’s into that, then it’s probably a good thing you guys didn’t hook up,” Brett reasons.

Aleks laughs and Brett’s stomach flips over itself when he notices the way Aleks’ eyes crinkle, how wide his smile is when he’s genuinely laughing. He can’t help but smile himself and then he looks down to his feet.

“Yeah, I don’t fuck with that shit, dawg.” Aleks shakes his head and closes his eyes, turning his head away from Brett to cough into his arm.

“Dude, you’re killing me,” Brett sighs and looks back to Aleks, grabbing his shoulders so he can guide them into the nearby Walgreens.

“What do we need to get?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to take you in somewhere warm. You’re gonna get more sick out there, I can feel it,” Brett says as he begins to unwrap his scarf.

“It’s cool, dude,” Aleks assures as he turns to Brett, furrowing his eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

“You’re taking this,” Brett tells him as he proceeds to drape the scarf over the back of his neck. “You need it more than I do.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling. “The fans are right, you really are my daddy.”

_DON’T. CALL. ME. THAT._

That has no reason at all to sound as hot as it does, but the fact of the matter is that it _does_ sound incredibly hot, and Brett is torn between wanting to hear it again and wanting to shove his dick into Aleks’ mouth to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

What was that? Shoving his dick into Aleks’ mouth? Brett didn’t think that at all, why would he? Aleks is his close friend, not to mention they work together and Brett would never think like that about somebody he works with, even though Aleks is the reason he’s even fucking around with guys today but that’s neither here nor there and it is certainly not relevant and Brett could never fuck Aleks, that’s ridiculous, that’s _unprofessional,_ it’s never going to happen!

Ever!!

 

Brett wraps the scarf snugly around Aleks’ neck and tugs slightly at the ends to make sure it’s wrapped securely before he gently pats Aleks’ cheek. “There, that adds like, +5 to your defense.”

“Aren’t you missing something?”

“Uh, what would I be missing?”

Aleks raises his eyebrows and turns his head to tap at his cheek with his finger. “Gimme a little kiss, right here.”

_What’s the worst that can happen?_

Brett smiles and leans in to give Aleks an innocent peck on the cheek before he pats his shoulder. “There you go, now let’s head back-”

“Actually, let’s just buy snacks here and chill in the hotel,” Aleks says. He raises his eyebrows at Brett and asks, “is that cool?”

“Hell yeah, dude, let’s do it. You lead the way.”

Aleks smiles and adjusts the scarf around his neck to loosen it before he continues down an aisle. Brett follows after at a steady pace until Aleks stops to look at the various assortments of chips and he leans back against a shelf, waiting for Aleks’ selection.

His eyes are squinted in thought as they scan over the various options available and he’s rubbing at his chin with his thumb and index finger, the digits grazing over the very miniscule amounts of stubble. They brush over a pimple or two as well and hey, nobody’s face can be perfect but despite these supposed imperfections, Brett still thinks Aleks is extraordinarily good looking - he has to be if Brett wants to fool around with guys…

… but then how come with all these random guys, Brett only wants sex whereas with Aleks...

 

Brett furrows his eyebrows and looks down to his feet.

It wasn’t a big event that made Brett realize it.

It wasn’t some grandiose explanation.

Just one look at Aleks was all it took for Brett to realize one important thing - _I wish Aleks could be mine._

* * *

 

**July 21st, 2017**

 

Today was the first official day of the Australian leg of the Overwatch World Cup so Brett’s been a real busy bee, fluttering around and interviewing people, setting up stages, and going to meetings and everything in between. He was thankful to get off early but he’s still had a long day and there’s no way he’s going back out. Brett’s going to go inside, change into something comfortable, and eat all of this (hopefully) good food while watching whatever garbage Netflix has to offer.

Brett arrives in the hotel lobby with a takeout bag of food from a restaurant around the corner. He’s never had it before but it’s like Aleks said, he needs to be adventurous and that’s exactly what he did! He’s so fucking crazy, ordering takeout from places he’s _never been to before._  Aleks would be begging Brett to fuck him sooo hard right now if he knew.

_I wonder how he’s doing, I should probably - who the hell is texting me?_

Furrowing his eyebrows, he reaches into his jeans to take out his phone and sees that it’s a text from Lindsey.

 

 **[Lindz]** We need to talk nooooow.

 

This sounds like something that requires more than just texting. When it sounds that urgent, something of this importance requires an actual phone call so he taps Lindsey’s contact and does just that. The phone idles for a few moments before Lindsey picks it up to greet him.

“What did you need to talk about?” Brett asks.

“Sooo, uh, I think I like somebody?” Lindsey says with uncertainty.

Brett gasps and his mouth widens into a smile. “Lindsey, who’s the lucky man?” he asks. “Do I know him perhaps?”

He feels like he should have some idea of who this guy is and he feels bad that he doesn’t but Brett’s been dealing with problems of his own lately.

Granted, they’re not problems anymore! Brett’s glad that he could set aside any grievances there is with fucking Aleks because the sex with him was _magnifique,_ punctuated by a chef’s kiss, but then there’s that problem of his massive crush on Aleks.

It’ll only be a problem if Brett lets it, just like their sex would have only been a big deal if they let it. At the end of the day, it really isn’t as complicated as he thinks it is.

 

“You dooo, they are a friend of yours.” Lindsey nods and looks down to her coffee table.

“I just got back from dinner with him-”

“Did you fuck him?” Brett asks as he presses the button on the elevator.

“Brett!” Lindsey gasps. “I don’t do that on the first date!” And then she blinks a few times and looks up to the ceiling. “That’s third date stuff.”

“Mmm, I totally feel you.”

“So we had a really great time and he’s great. Uh, he’s really funny, and he’s a gentleman, but-”

“But?” Brett scoffs. “What’s the problem with him if he’s so great?”

“Because he asked me out as a friend and I don’t…” Lindsey sighs and lies down across her couch. “I don’t think he likes me like that.”

Brett rolls his eyes and steps into the elevator. “Lindsey, he’d be stupid not to feel the same way.”

Lindsey frowns. “Would he really be stupid?”

“Yes, of course he would be,” Brett sighs. “You’re gorgeous, you’re funny, and you’re super fucking sweet on top of that so if he doesn’t like you, I’ll go and beat some sense into him. That’s a promise.”

And who fucking asks girls out as a friend anyways? … okay, so Brett does that a lot but he’s also not like most guys.

Whoever this mystery guy is that Lindsey went out with, they have to be looking for something more with her.

 

“Why don’t we just date?” Lindsey asks. “We’ve known each other for so long anyways, we might as well.”

“If I’m not dating anybody by the time I’m 40, then we’ll give it a shot,” Brett says. “I’ll pinky promise that.”

“Ooh, pinky promises,” Lindsey repeats. “Those are sacred.”

“You don’t think I know how sacred they are?”

Lindsey chuckles and sits up against the back of her couch, tucking her legs underneath her. “I didn’t say you didn’t, I’m just reminding you.”

“Mmhm.”

“But enough about my love life then,” Lindsey sighs. “Tell me about yours. How’s your love life going?”

Brett snorts and looks up when he hears the elevator “ding” before he walks on out and down the hall to his room. “What love life?” he asks.

Though he and Aleks… er, well that’s Brett’s _sex life._  Brett’s sex life is the best its ever have been but he hasn’t had any luck in the romantic side of things.

The few dates he’s went on were mediocre at best and downright creepy at its worst and ever since he went out with that chick who uses her menstrual blood for her witchcraft, Brett decided that a break from the dating scene wouldn’t be so bad.

If he didn’t take a break from the dating scene, he wouldn’t have been able to fuck Aleks so there’s pros and cons - though he hasn’t seen the consequences yet.

 

Lindsey rolls her eyes with a grin. “Uh huh…”

“Why do you say that like I have something to hide?” Brett accuses as he sets the phone in between his ear and shoulder to fish out his keycard from his pocket.

“So why is there a shirtless selfie of you on Aleks’ phone?” she mentions.

How the fuck did she know that Brett sent Aleks a shirtless picture? Unless she doesn’t… what if she’s bluffing? Or maybe it’s like… a different shirtless picture? There’s a few shirtless pictures of Brett out there, it wouldn’t be too out there for Aleks to have at least one on his phone.

… okay, so it’s a little bit suspicious, but Brett can’t just outright tell Lindsey he and Aleks are fucking. Uh, right?

“Maybe he’s looking to me for workout inspiration,” Brett replies as he walks into the room. “He’s been learning a lot from me since he moved to LA.”

“Okay… well I watched that video, of Joe’s birthday weekend? Aleks was on your lap-”

“Oh my god, _Lindsey,_ we were drunk,” _though that didn’t stop us from almost fucking each other,_ “and everybody does crazy, weird shit when they’re drunk.”

“Well James told me that you and Aleks were making out with each other at RTX,” Lindsey refutes. “Like, a lot.”

Brett blinks a few times and shakes his head. “James?” he repeats as he shoves the card into his pocket before he holds his phone like normal again. “When the fuck did James tell you that?”

“He told me tonight when we went out-”

“Hold on a fucking second,” Brett laughs. “ _James_  is the guy you went out with?”

“We’re not talking about my love life anymore!” Lindsey says. “We’re talking about yours!”

“Nope,” Brett chuckles and sets the food down on the table. “We’re talking about this. You went out with James last night? _James_  is the guy you like?”

“Fine, yes!” Lindsey huffs and lies back down on her couch. “It was James, he took me out for a nice dinner and it was fun and I wanna do more with him!”

“That’s so cute!” Brett chimes. “Aww, you two would be adorable together, I totally support that,” he says as he proceeds to take the boxes out of the bag. “When it becomes official, just like, be sure to keep it professional and stuff.”

Lindsey and James! Isn’t that something? Brett never would have thought about it before but now that the idea presents itself in his head, they would actually be the _cutest_. Not as cute as he thinks he and Aleks would be, but close!

Shit, he and Aleks would be _so cute,_ Brett could just wrap up Aleks so easily in his arms and kiss his cheeks and he can take him out to breakfast and lunch and dinner, he can hold his hands and their hands are the same size and they fit so perfectly together and their bodies too, like they slot together so well and their cuddling, oh my god, when they cuddled that night after having sex, Brett didn’t ever want it to end and… and uh…

Um. Anyways.

Yeah! Lindsey and James are cute!

 

“Professional,” Lindsey repeats. “Me and James? Professional? When _you_  and Aleks-”

“Oh _god_ ,” Brett whines and closes his eyes as he drops himself into the chair. “What _about_  me and Aleks?”

“What is up with you two?” Lindsey asks. “You can’t lie to me.”

“I’m not-”

“He’s the only one you’ve been talking to since you left for the World Cup, on top of how close you guys have been getting since he came to LA-”

“We’re not dating if that’s what you think,” Brett sighs and opens his eyes, reaching forward to open the box of takeout.

“I didn’t say you two were dating.” Lindsey raises her eyebrows with a smirk. “Dating isn’t the only thing you guys could do…”

Brett purses his lips together and looks down to his fries, tapping his fingers against the styrofoam box before he slowly lets go. He reaches to take the hat off his head and then he flings it to the side before he runs his fingers back through his hair.

She’s right. It’s not the only thing they could do but it’s the thing Brett wants the most. It’s fine though if they don’t date - Brett resigned himself to that fate a few months ago. He’s already taking a big step by strongly considering the possibility of fucking Aleks consistently and it might not be exactly what he wants but he’ll be getting more of Aleks and Brett can’t really say no to that.

Brett wants as much of Aleks as Aleks will let him. He can’t express that to Lindsey, what his feelings for Aleks really are, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to tell Lindsey the truth of what they’re doing with each other. She’s trustworthy.

 

“Okay, so…” Brett sighs through his nose and looks to the ceiling. “Me and Aleks sort of uh, did some stuff at RTX.”

“Sex stuff?”

“Yyyyyup.” Brett smacks his lips together. “That’s what happened. We did the sex and it was _muy bueno.”_

“Ooh, _muy bueno?”_ Lindsey says in a suggestive tone. “I knew you two had something going on!”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did, and you guys aren’t fooling anybody.”

“Hey, wait-”

“Anyways! Is it like, a one time thing or what?”

Brett rolls his eyes and says, “actually, we’re most likely gonna do it again when I get back.”

“Nice, get it in there!” Lindsey nods. “So you two are like, friends with benefits?”

Brett bites at his lips and stands up from the chair. “Uhhh, I’m not sure,” he answers as he walks over to the fridge. “It’s a gray area.”

“Well what would you like it to be?”

Staring aimlessly into the fridge, Brett contemplates the pros and cons of revealing to Lindsey how he feels about Aleks but ultimately…

“It doesn’t matter,” Brett mumbles.

“It matters to me,” Lindsey says softly. “I want you to be happy.”

With a frown, Brett closes the door and leans against it in the hopes that the cool texture will calm his inner nerves and soothe the thoughts in his mind but it’s just there, doesn’t do anything at all.

It really is fine that he and Aleks aren’t together like that. He _is_  fine with it, he really is, but obviously he wants more, even if Aleks just wants sex. He’s never going to be able to convince Aleks otherwise and even if he wanted to, there’s no way he could jeopardize everything Aleks has worked so hard for just because he wants to play kissy face with Aleks all the time.

It’s unfortunate but this is Brett’s reality. The only thing he can do is make the most of it.

 

“I just… I uh, I just wanna be friends with benefits,” Brett says. “He’s good, he’s hot so like… no brainer, right?” he forces a chuckle and bites down at his bottom lip before he turns around to open the door for a water bottle to chug down.

“No, that makes sense,” Lindsey says. “Are you sure that’s all you want though?”

“Yup.”

“Brett, you know, you can tell me anything,” Lindsey offers. “You don’t-”

“It’s all I want,” Brett says. “Hey, I gotta get off the phone. It’s been a long day and I’m hungry so-”

“Right, I had a long day too,” Lindsey says. “But Brett, just so you know, I’m here for you.”

“Yup.” Brett nods. “You’re the best, that’s one of the facts of life. I’ll talk to you uh, sometime later this week.”

They say their goodbyes and Brett shoves the water back into the fridge before he closes the door, a bit too rough, but he’s like, really hungry and he’s desperate to get some food in his stomach, why would it be anything else?

As Brett sits at the table, his phone buzzes again and he rolls his eyes as checks to see who it is, because he just wants to be alone right now but when he sees who it’s from, he wastes no time in accepting the call.

 

“Hey, Aleks!” Brett answers in a genuinely cheery tone. “What’s up, bud?”

“Just wanted to talk to you,” Aleks answers softly. “You’re coming back the 25th, aren’t you?”

“Indeed, I am.” Brett nods. “Catching the flight to LA and immediately driving to the office afterwards.”

“Today was uh, the first day of the cup in Australia, right?”

“Yeah, it’s been a reeeal long day,” Brett sighs and leans back on the chair before he runs a hand down his face.

“Oh.” Aleks slumps on the couch. “Do you wanna raincheck tomorrow?”

_Nooooo, please stay!!_

“No!” Brett shakes his head quickly and sits up straight. “No, I’m always glad to talk to you.”

Aleks smiles and perks up again. “You wanna talk about your day?”

“Honestly? I’d rather hear about yours,” Brett chuckles. “It’s the same ol’ over here. How’s your day been?”

Aleks goes off about his day after that and every so often, Brett will interject with tidbits from his own that relate to Aleks’ day and they’ll end up having an unrelated conversation before Aleks remembers what he was talking about and goes back to it. Their conversation is sort of a jumbled mess of topics but they could talk about the paint fucking drying and Brett would be completely fine with it. It doesn’t matter what they talk about, just as long as he gets to talk to Aleks.

He’s mesmerized by everything Aleks says or does and for Aleks to even continue to bestow him with his presence is… well, Brett doesn’t think he deserves it sometimes.

But no matter what kind of conversation they have, like the one right now, there’s always one point where Brett will trail off in the dream land that Aleks’ voice has put him in, and he’ll think, _I wish he could really be mine._

* * *

 

 

**July 25th, 2017**

 

In the days leading up to Brett’s return home, it’s been more or less the same - working on the cup and interviewing participants, occasionally exploring the world around him, and going back to the hotel room to talk to Aleks. Nothing too notable has happened but it’s okay.

As long as he and Aleks are okay, that’s all Brett cares about.

The Overwatch World Cup was a tremendous experience and it wasn’t all work. Brett _did_ actually talk to other people and hang out with them but they weren’t the highlight of his trip. Not even the beautiful sights of Shanghai and Sydney were a highlight, as breathtaking as they were, because all Brett wanted to do was go home and see Aleks again, though it’s hard for these highlights from those two weeks to compete with one of the big highlights of his life.

Aleks is… well, he’s many things.

He’s a cozy, rainy Sunday.

He’s what you feel when you pull into the driveway after a long trip.

He’s the warmth in a loved one’s arms.

To put it quite simply, Aleks is Brett’s home.

When Brett is apart from his home, from _Aleks_ , it feels like a part of him has been sliced out and thrown away but now that he’s back in the parking lot of the office, the beginnings of that sliced out part is manifesting within him again. Brett is steadily being put back together and by the time he steps through the front door, the entirety of him is complete again.

He’s carrying a box of goodies that a nice fan has sent to the warehouse as he steps inside. The warehouse hasn’t changed at all since he left - the lobby is still intact, the walls are relatively clean, and there’s a big flag of Australia hanging outside his office.

_Wait, where the fuck did my door go??? How did - ALEKSANDR._

Brett releases a heavy sigh as he looks back to the flag and he presses his lips together, shaking his head but a smile still tickles the corner of his lips.

He knows he “explicitly” told Aleks not to give his office a makeover while he was gone but he actually doesn’t mind. It means Aleks is thinking about him, fuck, he’s _been_ thinking about Brett since Brett has been gone, as much as Brett has been thinking about him.

Aleks missed him.

Aleks missed Brett _so much_  and that’s not a fantasy, that’s _reality._

There are so many things that Brett has fantasized with Aleks that have recently become a reality and sure, there are more things Brett would like to make happen but he just has to remember all of the things that have happened and all of the progress they’ve made thus far and he couldn’t be more thankful.

 

Brett keeps on walking and holds open the flag as he steps inside the product of Australia and China’s love making. He looks around for a few moments just to fully categorize everything that’s in here - the screen divider at the other end, the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and paper dragons taped to the walls, and… the Machinima logo? That’s not Australia or China, that’s just a product of Hell! What’s that doing in here?

Brett laughs at the absurdity of it all but when he turns on the lights to see that it’s painting his room in a lovely shade of red, his laugh grows louder before he asks, “what the fuck is this?”

At the very least, it’s clean. Incredibly clean, holy shit, it’s spotless in here! It’s why he can’t really be mad at the makeover, no matter who it’s from, because they cleaned his office for him and Brett knows how messy it was but a clean office isn’t exactly his priority. His priorities involve overseeing everybody, running the channel, and now he has to add fucking Aleks stupid to the top of the list.

He walks along the new rugs laid out on the floor and over to the other side of the office, past the open doors. “Wow, I got a new uh…” He looks up to see Lindsey and her camera, _of course this is being filmed,_ and sets down the box of goodies. “I got a new life now, I guess,” he says as he stands back up to go back into his office. “We got uh, a taste of the foreign lands in here. Time to do my daily prayer to the ghosts of Maui…”

Brett comments on the other things he sees, like the plastic scorpions on the display stand his television is stood upon and his new desk that he has to sit on the floor to properly use. Brett doesn’t fuck with that at all and he’s definitely putting his regular desk back in there but for today, he’ll humor Aleks and deal with all of the crazy shit Aleks has done to him.

_I’m just glad Aleks didn’t burn down my office._

He walks back out of his office and into the main area, looking around to see uh, nobody else besides Lindsey. Brett nods and sets his hands on his hips as he does another once over. “Well uh, I guess I’m back,” he says. “I knew something would happen but I’m grateful that-”

_Buzz buzz._

“STOP,” Brett sighs as he takes out his phone to quickly turn it off. “I’m grateful that, you know, this isn’t full of snakes.” He nods and turns his head - _ALEKS._

“You thought there’d uh, be snakes?” Aleks asks as he scratches the back of his head, biting at his lips.

In the endless night that has overcast the last 2 weeks, Aleks is the bright sunrise that finally propels Brett forward into the next day and allows him to live to the fullest again.

The entire office around them blurs into shades of black and white and Aleks stands among it all in a cache of vivid neon colors. He is all that captures Brett’s attention, it’s all Brett’s mind can focus on, and he even stops breathing for a few seconds because he hasn’t seen Aleks in _so long_  but there he is, he’s right there, he’s living and breathing and they’re _so close._ It literally takes away his ability to breathe and the only reason Brett is living is because Aleks keeps him hanging on.

But Brett wouldn’t change it at all.

 

“I uh. Um, yeah” Brett forces a chuckle. “Yeah. I thought, for sure, you would’ve put snakes in there.”

_KISS HIM! PUT YOUR LIPS ON HIS!!_

“Or uh.” Brett swallows and shrugs. “Just one cobra,” he says as he raises an index finger, turning his body to walk back into his office. “Just one.”

_KISS HIM, YOU PUSSY!_

There’s a burning need to kiss Aleks and it burns far greater than anything else. Fuck, Brett needs to find a moment of time today to pull Aleks aside and _just kiss him,_ they don’t even need to do anything else but fuck, _he needs to kiss him_ _again_ and relive that time in Texas spent with each other. He remembers it all, every single thing, but that’s not going to beat doing it for real.

Aleks is right there. He’s mere feet away and it is so easy to take a few strides over, wrap his arms around Aleks waist, and pull him in for the biggest kiss, but they’re at work, _why do we have to be at work?,_ they're on camera, _why do we have to be on camera?!,_ and Brett has to wait until they get home to do everything he wants to Aleks.

He doesn’t even know where to start. All Brett knows is that he needs to remind Aleks why he so easily gave himself up to Brett that night, and why Brett so easily gave up to him - because believe it or not, he did give up easily.

Brett thought there’d be more reluctance on his end but Aleks has a way about him that makes it hard to resist his advances. He’s not even doing anything right now and Brett still finds him hard to resist.

 

Brett eyes the Machinima logo again and furrows his eyebrows. “I don’t know about the Machinima logo though,” he says as he reaches his hand out to touch the wall. “Oh, wow uh, that’s on the wall,” he notes. “That’s permanent. That’s not a poster, this is real. I have to look at the Machinima logo every day,” he sighs and shakes his head as he proceeds to his new desk.

“Well what do you think of your new space?” Aleks asks as he wanders into the office, crossing his arms over his chest while he looks over his hard work. “Radical mural, aside?”

“It’s very uh…” Brett sits down at his desk and looks back and forth between the two monitors. “It’s gonna remind me of all the lessons I’ve learned when I was traveling abroad. Where the fuck is my keyboard, I don’t-” He cuts himself off with a chuckle when he finds the keyboard underneath the desk and he places it on his lap. He looks back up at the monitor and acts like he’s typing as he says, “hello, Rooster Teeth, I’d like you to buy out my shares in this company, please.”

Brett teases and jokes but it really is neat in here. The office has more personality than before and it’s rather cozy in here with the addition of the red lighting, and he knows that lighting was Lindsey’s idea, he knows her fucking obsession with colored lights, but it works rather well.

He doesn’t know if Aleks meant for this to be a prank or a genuine makeover but either way, Brett’s a big fan of what Aleks has done with the place.

“But uh,” Brett stands up from the desk and smooths down his shirt, “very good job. My calendar is still there, I can still do my job, and that’s the important thing.”

Aleks nods and smooths down his own shirt as he slowly steps around Brett’s desk. “So uh, you really do like it?” he asks as he begins to twiddle his thumbs together.

“Yeah, it’s all really- oh, goodness.”

Aleks hugs Brett tightly, as tight as he can, and it takes Brett a few seconds to register the touch because _Aleks is touching him_ and it’s been two weeks since they’ve been around each other, since they _touched_ each other, and it’s the most heavenly feeling on earth.

Brett’s veins light up with electricity and the receptors in his mind fire off on all cylinders as they do their best to tell Brett that this is real. He’s really back at home and Aleks, his crush, his crush _that he fucked two weeks ago,_ is hugging him, and he doesn’t seem to ever wanna let go.

Brett is home. And he doesn’t have to go away again… not for another few weeks but at least he can see and enjoy Aleks for some time until he has to go away again. For now, he’s going to make use of all of the time he has available with him.

 

“I missed you,” Aleks says against his ear.

Brett closes his eyes and holds Aleks tight to his body, a hand in Aleks’ hair. “I missed you too, Aleks,” Brett says softly. “So much.”

_More than you can ever imagine._

Aleks’ body is warm and he smells like… like Brett, actually. Is he wearing Brett’s cologne?

Brett’s heart races when it fully recognizes the scent and he can confirm that is, indeed, his cologne Aleks is wearing and Brett smiles at the image of Aleks missing him _so much_  he has to wear his cologne just to replicate the sense of Brett being there. Maybe he’s looking too deep into it but a man can dream, can’t he?

 

Lindsey smiles behind her camera and turns it off before she lowers it. “Do I need to give you two some alone time?” she asks.

Aleks pulls away with a blush and though the hug has been broken up, he still keeps one arm wrapped around Brett. “I mean, just so me and him can talk about personal shit. You mind?”

“Not at all.” Lindsey hums and turns to walk away but right as she makes it to the door, she immediately turns back on her heel. “Oh, before I go! Did you guys wanna go out with me and James tonight? I convinced him to go to the club with me but it might make him more comfortable if you guys come along too.”

“Uh…” Aleks licks along his lips and looks up to Brett, raising his eyebrows with a shrug.

Brett looks down to Aleks and bites at his bottom lip before he looks back to Lindsey. “Can you let us talk about it for a few minutes?”

“I’ll be at my desk!”

Lindsey leaves the two of them alone and Brett maneuvers himself, with much trepidation, out of Aleks’ arm to sit back behind his desk and when Aleks immediately sits beside him, Brett can’t help the chuckle that escapes his lips.

“You really missed me, huh?” Brett notes.

“It’s been two weeks,” Aleks reminds him. “It’s been fucking weird without you here.”

“It’s been weird without you, dude. I was away all by myself and I couldn’t have my best guy with me?” Brett blows out a breath and shake his head. “It was hell, dude.”

“It wasn’t that bad there, right?”

Brett huffs a chuckle through his nose. “Nah. I’m just being emo.”

The people were nice and it was fun to watch the Overwatch games play out. Many people used unique tactics that Brett could never think off on his own and when he gets around to playing Overwatch again, he can’t wait to show off all the new tricks he’s learned but you know… they weren’t Aleks! Take Aleks out of the equation and it was a hell of a time but keep Aleks in, and it was, well, Hell.

 

“Well did you wanna go out?” Aleks asks. “I guess Lindsey and James are sort of-”

“Getting it in? Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Brett nods. “Do _you_  wanna go out?”

Aleks looks up to the ceiling as he scoots closer to Brett, enough for their shoulders to touch. “So… I know we talked about like…” He rolls his lips back and looks over to Brett.

“Fucking each other as soon as I came back?” Brett raises his eyebrows and looks to Aleks, his eyes dipping down to his lips. “What about it?”

Aleks breathes in deeply and looks down to Brett’s lips, licking along his own. “We had fun at the club last time we went together so uh… I wouldn’t mind going with you again.”

_Aleks whines when Brett takes his hat. “Breeeeett, give it back!” he demands._

_“Only if you dance with me, Aleks!” Brett says as he holds out his hand, waggling his fingers. “Still don’t think I’ve taken your mind off about it juuuuust yet!”_

_Aleks scoffs and squints his eyes as he looks to Brett’s hand for a few moments before he looks back into his eyes. “I like to get real close with my guys, you think you can handle that?”_

_Brett throws his head back with a laugh and looks back down to Aleks. “What, you think I can’t? Try me.”_

Of course Brett remembers everything that transpired after that. They grinded on each other and Aleks’ ass fit so perfectly against his crotch, which Brett would later find out just how perfect those two things fit together. That night at the club feels so long ago, really, that whole week feels like it happened years ago with how quickly he and Aleks have progressed since then.

In that week alone, they shared their first kiss and their first dance. Two months later, they’re sharing many more firsts with each other and Brett wonders how many more firsts they can knock out of the park, but he also wonders about their seconds - like the second time they’ll fuck.

There’s no doubt that it’s happening tonight and Brett’s body has been riding off that wave of excitement ever since he stepped off the plane but some fun before the actual main event could help to make it that much more explosive.

 

“Yeah, I definitely wanna go with you again,” Brett says as his eyes flicker back into Aleks’. “Honestly, I just wanna spend _any_ time with you after being away for like, a million years,” he laughs lightly and looks up to the ceiling, then all around. “Wow, this lighting is bright.”

Aleks raises his eyebrows and looks up with a smile. “Oh yeah, Lindsey’s idea.”

“Thought so. It’s cozy but it’s like, weirdly romantic, isn’t it?”

“For sure, yeah.” Aleks nods. “It’s got that mood lighting, you know? You can just bring somebody in here when the warehouse is empty, put on some soft music…”

“And get close,” Brett finishes quietly as he looks back down to Aleks, then his lips. He tilts his head and shimmies closer, rests a hand on the floor to keep himself balanced. “Like… real close…”

Aleks looks down to Brett and swallows, tilting his head as he stares at his lips again. A breath parts his lips open and it ghosts hotly over Brett’s lips, the heat forcing Brett’s own mouth to part open for much needed air and when his breath wisps over Aleks’ lips, when Aleks breathes in his air, Aleks gives a quiet whine.

“I really want you,” Aleks breathes.

“I do too,” Brett breathes back.

_More than you’ll ever want me._

“It’s just Lindsey and James here,” Aleks reminds Brett as he brings up a hand to fist in the collar of his shirt. “We could-”

“No.” Brett shakes his head. “Not here. I _really_  want to, so fucking bad,” he chuckles, “but we can’t do it here.”

Aleks sighs and it borders on another whine as he moves his mouth by Brett’s ear. “Please, Brett-”

“Aleks, don’t,” Brett whines and tilts his head away. “Later, I promise.”

“Just a kiss?” he asks in the sweetest tone he can manage. “Just one?”

Brett swipes his tongue along his lips as he looks back and forth between the doors of his office. There’s nobody he can see from his immediate vision and his doors are _somewhat_ covered by the divider and flag respectively… then you factor in Aleks’ persistence, his irresistibility, and that mesmerizing voice, and Brett finds it hard to deny Aleks _just one kiss._

What’s one kiss gonna hurt, right? What’s the worst that can happen?

 

Brett sighs and when he looks back to Aleks, Aleks has pulled his head away to fully look at Brett. Aleks slides his teeth along his bottom lip and tilts his head, stares into Brett with his brown eyes, usually so warm that have now darkened into a cold, predatorial gaze and Brett’s resolve crumbles underneath it.

Just like that, Aleks is the predator and Brett is the prey that he successfully managed to acquire.

 

“Fuck it,” Brett breathes as he frames Aleks’ face in his hands and Aleks immediately surges forward to capture Brett’s lips in a fiery kiss, one that he completely dominates, and Brett has no problems allowing himself to submit and let Aleks show him how much he’s missed Brett these past few weeks.

Aleks’ lips upon his after so long is a pleasure somewhat like watching your team win the world cup after years of losing, when your back is cracked and finally rids of all that tension, when you’re finally able to scratch that itch that’s been nagging at you for what seems to be the longest time - it was somewhat like those things except this pleasure is unending.

They might have to wait until later tonight to do what they’ve aching to do with each other since that night in Texas but this kiss will be enough to tide them over until then.

 

Things aren’t back to normal between him and Aleks. They’ll never, ever be back to normal. That’s because things between him and Aleks right now are better than normal and Brett isn’t ever going to go back to that normal life he had before.

All Brett remembers in his life, now that Aleks has came into it like _this,_ is after.


	30. Loving In The Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett and Aleks go to the club with James and Lindsey but naturally, find themselves alone with each other… until Brett realizes he’s not the only one eyeing Aleks at this club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to let everybody know that last week was the last double upload week. It's single uploads from here on out for the next 3 chapters.
> 
> :') I can't believe we're so close already.

****Brett slowly licks along his lips as he grabs ahold of his dick through his briefs and he gives it a brief shake. “You want daddy’s dick, baby?” he asks softly. “Yeah? How bad do you want it?”

_Eh, pull back._

He blinks a few times and then he cocks his hip to the side, putting a hand on it and grinning with a wink. “Hey,” he says. “Got uh... I got a _package_ for you. A real big one.”

_You’re pulling back too much._

He rolls his eyes at his own reflection before he turns back to his dresser with a sigh. “I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish there,” he tells himself. “What the fuck am I wearing tonight?”

 

Brett feels like how he did on prom night, when a member of the cheerleading squad actually said yes to going to with him of all people. His nerves aren’t on fire like they were that night but the jitters are more or less the same and his whole body is thrumming in anticipation for what’s to come later in the night.

It’s not even a date so he thinks it’s stupid to be so nervous about it… hell, he’s not even worried about that, he’s concerned with the knowledge that he and Aleks are actually going to fuck after their night out is done with. Aleks is expecting Brett to give him a great fuck like he did last time and Brett doesn’t doubt that he’ll be able to accomplish it but there’s a lot at stake tonight.

Aleks isn’t just some guy he matched up with on Grindr.

Aleks is his coworker.

Aleks is his closest friend.

Aleks is somebody he took under his wing so long ago, who’s been looking up to Brett ever since.

Aleks is so many things to Brett and Brett owes it to Aleks to give him another night he won’t forget, for the right reasons.

 

He opens a drawer to leaf through for a shirt to wear but worry flashes over his face when nothing stands out. Brett never has problems picking out an outfit so why is it such a fucking hassle this time? He could wear what he did to the club last time but he can’t repeat a club outfit, not with Aleks-

_Spank._

“What’s cookin’, good lookin’ ?”

Brett grins and turns around to see Aleks and the proud smirk on his face.

He has absolutely no remorse for spanking Brett at all and he shouldn’t. Brett wishes guys could touch his ass more often! That’s a compliment!

Aleks raises an eyebrow and takes a step back, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks Brett up and down before asking, “is that what you’re wearing?”

Aleks’ outfit looks good, even if Brett has seen it before. He’s wearing that tanktop with the galaxy print along with black skinny jeans, but they don’t seem to be too comfortable because he keeps scratching right above his knees and pulling at the fabric.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Brett mirrors. “Those jeans don’t look comfortable.”

“They are,” Aleks assures as he itches at the spot again. “I’m just… they are, it’s fine.”

“Right… well, yeah, this is my outfit for tonight. I’m gonna start a new trend,” Brett answers as he rubs his ass. “Also? I haven’t heard anybody say _‘what’s cookin’, good lookin’_ ‘ to me since middle school.”

“Did they have middle school in your time?”

Brett tilts his head and his eyes lid into slits as he stares at Aleks with a completely bored expression, though the tilted corner of his mouth gives away his actual indifference to the comment.

Also, he doesn’t think Aleks is teasing him for it considering he gets off on the fact that he’s older. Brett assumes he gets off on that fact because he said it himself that older guys are hot, Brett is older, etc.

He’s big and strong too. With a big dick. It’s uh, sort of Aleks’ standard…

_“You **are** the standard. Like,” Aleks slams back down onto Brett’s cock with a groan. “I’ve been trying to find guys like you, big and strong and shit like that, and they’re good but they’re not you.” _

And he _is_  Aleks’ standard, but Brett just wishes it’d mean something a bit more beyond sexual attraction.

 

Aleks’ smirk softens into a smile as he plops a seat onto Brett’s bed. “I missed you,” he says innocently.

Brett scoffs and looks down into his black hole of a drawer. “Yeah, you missed making fun of me at every opportunity.”

“That too,” Aleks says. “So why aren’t you dressed yet?”

“Still trying to find an outfit,” Brett sighs. “My old, dusty ass needs to look good.”

“Why?” Aleks asks as that smirk makes its way back onto his face. “You looking to get laid?”

Brett gives a brief laugh and rests an arm on top the dresser as he looks back to Aleks. “With you, yes. I still wanna look good for you.”

Aleks blinks and he scratches at his cheek when it begins to heat up. He breathes out through his nose and stands up from the bed to meet Brett at his dresser and he gently pats his shoulder. “Go sit down, I’ll find an outfit you’ll look good in. Let me worry about all that.”

Brett raises his eyebrows and purses his lips with an approving nod before he holds up both his hands. “The floor is yours. Or I guess my dresser, in this case,” he says as he sits down on his bed, leaning back on his hands to watch Aleks pick an outfit for him.

Aleks takes Brett’s clothing plight seriously as he cards through the articles of clothing in the various drawers to find that perfect outfit for Brett, though Brett should know that Aleks thinks he’d look good in anything. Some shirts he throws on top his shoulder but then he’ll find more options and put the shirts back, go back through drawers to scan through the available catalog but after a minute or two, he finally settles on a nice outfit.

“Alright, get changed,” Aleks says as he lays the clothes out on the bed - a long sleeve white button up and crisp black jeans, which Brett is fine with. He’ll roll up the sleeves on that bad boy and all the panties will drop.

_Aleks would look good in those._

“Sweet, dude,” Brett says as he swipes for the shirt. “Thanks, I really-”

“Wait, hold on. Missing one thing.” Aleks holds up a finger as he goes back through Brett’s drawers, opening and closing them quickly to find one in particular and he grins when he finds the one with all the hats. He takes a black baseball cap out and tosses it back onto the bed before he leans back against the dresser.

“Ah, a hat.” Brett grins as he drops the shirt to take the heat instead, placing it backwards on his head. “I’d be such a _fool,_ going out without my handy dandy hat.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I’d say go without it because I think it’s hot as hell-”

“But I don’t,” Brett argues. “It’s just a reminder that I’m getting old.”

“You’re fucking 34, dude,” Aleks chuckles and steps forward in between Brett’s legs before he grabs onto his shoulders. “You’re not old. You got like, 6 years before you can call yourself old.”

Brett whines and closes his eyes. “See, I’m _so close_  to being old!” He pouts as he opens his eyes again. “I wanna be like you.”

“Well I want you to be like you.” Aleks raises an eyebrow as he easily climbs onto Brett’s lap.

“But I don’t-”

“Shut up.”

“Aleks, I’m-”

“Brett,” Aleks says firmly. “Stop talking.”

“You’re so much younger than me, you don’t - mmm…”

Brett’s eyes close as Aleks suddenly presses their lips together. The taste of Aleks upon his lips once more blocks out his memory of what he was worried about seconds prior and it takes him back to that oh so satisfying kiss they shared in the warehouse.

That kiss was desperate and needy, they were biting and sucking at each other’s lips and doing whatever they could to get even an inkling of each other’s taste, to remember it in case they have to go that long without each other again...

… and then they heard footsteps so they had to scramble away and act like they were talking about work the whole time and then James came into the office and gave them this _look,_ like he knew what happened, before he pulled Aleks away to talk to him about a video.

So they didn’t really get to properly finish that kiss but now that they’re in the privacy of Brett’s bedroom, they can give it the proper send off it deserves.

 

He smiles against Aleks’ lips as he tilts his head, wraps his arms around his waist to hold him close. Aleks returns the smile as he wraps an arm around Brett’s neck, bringing the other hand past Brett to rest on the bed behind him so he can coax Brett backwards, until Brett’s lying down.

Brett tips the hat off his head before his arm returns to its original place. He presses in slightly with his mouth and moans into Aleks’ before he slowly drags his lips away, licking along them to savor Aleks’ taste once more. “God, I missed that,” he breathes.

“Me too,” Aleks breathes back and stares down into Brett’s eyes. “I really can’t get over how good you are at kissing.”

“Hey, you and me both,” Brett chuckles and looks back into his eyes. “I’m real lucky.”

“I’d say I’m the lucky one,” Aleks says as he pulls himself up from Brett’s lap, reaching through his pocket to adjust himself.

 

In a way, Aleks really is the luckier one in their sexual equation. He doesn’t have to worry about feelings getting involved because all he wants with Brett is the physical, like the kissing and the sex. It’s much more easy for Aleks to do this without the deep recesses of his mind floating to the forefront to nag at him and Brett envies that but he wouldn’t have done all of this if he wasn’t acutely aware of how Aleks felt.

Brett knew exactly what he signed up for. He signed up to have sex with Aleks and that’s all it’ll ever be, but it won’t stop him from wondering… _what if?_

* * *

 

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_Scandroid - Datastream_**

 

Brett, Aleks, Lindsey, and James, are back at the Avalon Nightclub and nothing has changed at all since the last time they came, excluding the addition of James. The scantily clad people are scattered around various parts of the club and the music is booming loud as ever with the only somewhat quiet sanctuary being the lounge, down the hallway from the bar and dance floor.

Brett has just left the bathroom to make his way back to the bar when he sees Aleks hunched over the counter, texting away on his phone, that thick ass right on display for Brett’s lucky eyes.

The lights of the bar and the hallway blend together in a cool blue color and the crystalline panel bordering the wall behind the bar displays waves of baby blue to emulate a serene environment that contrasts the riotous atmosphere of the rest of the club. Aleks is about the only person at the bar that isn’t causing a ruckus. Yeah, Aleks being quiet, it’s fucking crazy, dude!!

You know what else is crazy? How much a relationship can change in the course of 4 months.

 

_“Your circuits are online, and ready to go…”_

 

He tilts his head with a grin before he looks to the back of Aleks’ head and he makes his way across the floor to grab his ass from behind. Brett chuckles when Aleks jolts underneath his touch and he presses a soothing kiss right under his ear before he murmurs against the shell, “did you miss me?”

 

_“Open yourself to me, prepare to entwine.”_

 

Aleks sighs with relief and smiles as he reaches an arm back to wrap around Brett’s neck, tilting his head to kiss his cheek. “God, I’m fuckin’ glad it’s you.”

“Who else did you think it’d be?” Brett asks as he wraps an arm around Aleks’ waist.

“Listen, pretty guy like me alone at a bar?” Aleks blows out a breath and shakes his head. “That’s open fuckin’ season, dawg.”

 

_“Breathing in binary, our systems aligned.”_

 

Maybe Brett’s biased - okay, he’s _totally_  biased - but when he looks around the bar, it’s obvious that Aleks is the prettiest one here. Everybody else has generic faces that are too perfect and interchangeable, no discernible qualities to set them apart, but every single one of Aleks’ features are remarkable and the blue lights reflect off these features and bring his face even more to life in a ravishing vision that completely steals Brett’s focus.

“You’re not alone at the bar,” Brett assures as he tightens the hold around Aleks’ waist and he smiles when Aleks does. “You’re here with me… and Lindsey. And James-”

“Where are they, anyways?” Aleks asks as he looks out to the floor, raising his head like it’ll give him a birds eye view even though the bar is level with everything else. “We came in with them and talked but then we just fucking lost sight of them.”

 

_“Searching for frequencies and scanning through time.”_

 

“You complaining about being alone with me?” Brett teases and winks at Aleks when Aleks turns his head to look at him. “Thought you’ve been wanting this alone time with me.”

“I have, and I _really_  like that we’re kind of alone right now.” Aleks grins and leans off of Brett’s arm to hop onto the stool before he pulls Brett in by the hem of his shirt. “But I still wanna know where our friends are.”

 

_“Both lost in the datastream that’s linking our minds.”_

 

“Okay.” Brett nods. “That’s fair.” He wraps an arm around Aleks’ shoulder and shimmies as close to the stool as he can before he looks off to the floor, squinting his eyes in search of the two. “They’re hitting it off pretty well though so maybe they just went to be alone with each other, kinda like what we’re doing.”

Clubs aren’t James’ thing anyways so they probably went to the lounge where it’s a bit more quiet and actually offers avenues for deep conversation. The music tapers off near the bar so Brett and Aleks are able to delve into that level if needed but they still need to raise their voices somewhat to be heard through the music. It also helps that Brett is madly into Aleks so it’s not hard at all for him to hear whatever Aleks is saying. The music is simply loud background noise that his mind can block out.

“They’d be a good example for a successful workplace relationship, right?” Aleks asks with a grin as he looks to Brett, crossing his arms on top the counter. “They’re cute together, dude. They’d work really well.”

Brett narrows his eyes questioningly as he looks back to Aleks and he gives a small smile. “Mmm, I don’t-”

“No dude, you don’t got an argument against it anymore,” Aleks chuckles. “You’re wrong.”

 

_”Now I don’t feel so alone, when the lights start fading.”_

 

Brett sighs and rolls his eyes. “Okay, yeah, I guess it’s fine…” He purses his lips together then shrugs. “Most of it, anyways.”

Aleks squints his eyes. “Most of it?”

“I mean,” Brett lowers his arm to wrap it around Aleks’ waist and reaches his other hand up to tilt his baseball hat frontwards, “I won’t get in a relationship with a coworker. That’s my personal thing though.”

 

_“We bathe in the shadow of the city far above.”_

 

If Aleks asked Brett for a relationship right now, then Brett would absolutely have the willpower to say no to him and continue being a respectable professional, just like he had the willpower to say no to Aleks in the office when he wanted a kiss, or when he told Aleks no when Aleks wanted him to do more than just finger him in that hotel room.

It’s what Brett tells himself because he’ll never actually ask Aleks out. What if he’s the one that risks it and loses it all? He doesn’t want to carry that possible burden on his shoulders for introducing them to that situation, as lovely as the situation sounds, because there’s still that possibility it could all go so wrong _so fast._

 

Aleks rolls his lips back between his teeth and gnaws along the bottom as he looks out to the floor. He then lets go and presses his lips together, sitting up straight on the stool before he leans back against Brett’s arm. “Well uh,” he chuckles and rubs the back of his neck “good thing we’re uh, just fucking each other.”

Exactly. They’re just fucking each other.

Aleks said it himself. That’s all it’ll ever be.

_You signed up for this. You know what this is._

“Ha, yeah,” Brett forces a chuckle and looks over to the drinks sitting behind the bar. “Well uh, let’s say we get a drink going? Really liven this night up?”

 

_"Come hide away with me tonight, in this neon home…"_

 

“Hell yeah, dude!” Aleks slams his hands on the counter and swipes the nearby menu. “Get us something good!”

“So you want like, a rum and coke or-”

“Excuse me, gentleman?”

Brett and Aleks raise their eyebrows as well as their heads as they give the bartender their attention, then the red drink that the bartender places in front of Aleks.

 

_"Glowing like a firefly, the datastream online and ready to flow."_

 

The bartender steps to the side and looks over to the other side of the counter at a spray tanned man with dark brown hair and a ripped up tanktop. The man turns away from his friends to look in Brett and Aleks’ direction but it’s clear which man he’s giving his attention to. He gives a wink and openly licks along his lips before he turns back to the conversation with his friends.

“That man over there,” the bartender points out, “bought you this drink. It’s all yours.”

Aleks blinks at the drink as he raises it from the counter to inspect it. When he looks back up, he and the guy make eye contact and Aleks sends him a small smile before he looks to Brett with a shrug. “Can’t say no to a free drink,” Aleks reasons as he brings the rim of the glass to his lips.

 

_"Open yourself to me, prepare to entwine."_

 

Brett swipes his tongue along his teeth before he snaps his head to look over at that Jersey Shore knock off and when they lock eyes with each other, it’s nowhere near the affection (?) the man holds for Aleks. He narrows his eyes at Brett and tilts his head, raises his eyebrows almost in a challenge before he straightens his body, rolls his shoulders back, and turns back to his friends.

“Dude, this is the first free drink I had that sucks.”

Brett looks back to Aleks and laughs at the look on his face, like he tasted something too sour or too bitter or… just too gross but either way, he didn’t need to say a word for Brett to know that the orange dude trying to get Aleks’ attention has a terrible penchant for his alcohol.

“I’ll hook you up.” Brett winks at Aleks and brings his hand up from Aleks’ back to rest on the nape of his neck as he calls out for the bartender. “Yo, what’s up! Can I get…”

 

_"Breathing in binary, our systems aligned."_

 

The bartender quickly comes back with their drinks and Brett takes a long sip of his, raising his eyebrows with a nod at the taste before he looks to Aleks for his reaction. When Aleks rolls his lips back with a hum and immediately goes in for another sip, Brett smirks and looks to his competitor with a shrug before he wraps his arm back around Aleks’ waist.

Brett, 1. Jersey Shore Knockoff Guy, 0.

“Dude, this tastes like a lollipop,” Aleks laughs before he downs the rest of the drink, quickly licking along his lips to savor the sweetness. “How come I’ve never had this before?”

 

_"Searching for frequencies and scanning through time."_

 

“Because you think girly drinks are bad when really, they’re the best drinks around.” Brett shrugs and finishes off his before he sets it back down on the counter. “So much better than what that other guy sent, right?” he asks as he looks to Aleks, wrapping the other arm around his waist and tilting his head as his gaze dips down to Aleks’ wet lips.

“Rat piss could’ve been better,” Aleks answers as he brings up his hands to fist into Brett’s shirt at the middle. “But…” He grins and looks up to Brett, following his eyesight before his own follows in turn to stare at Brett’s lips. “It was pretty rad, I’d say.”

“Do I get anything for it?” Brett goes on to ask.

 

_"Both lost in the datastream that’s linking our minds..."_

 

“Like what?” Aleks encourages.

“Like… I dunno, maybe a little kiss?” Brett raises his eyebrows. “Just one?”

Aleks’ grin widens to show his teeth and he swipes his tongue along them as he leans in. “You really want a kiss?” he breathes.

“Give it to me, c’mon,” Brett urges in a mumble as he nods his head upwards, the adrenaline surging quickly through his body as Aleks’ breath wisps over his mouth and his lips are wet, Aleks’ breath is cool, so it leaves an impression that lasts longer than usual and it makes Brett even more desperate to taste those lips and he thinks it’s going to happen, it’s so close, but right when Aleks’ lips brush against his, he instantly hops off the stool and lets go of his shirt.

Brett contemplates, for the millionth time since Aleks moved in, why he likes him as much as he does.

“I’m down for kissing you,” Aleks says. “But-”

“So do it!” Brett whines and stomps his foot pitifully against the ground. “Kiss meee.”

“Aren’t you like, 9 years older than me?” Aleks wonders as he looks to Brett with squinted eyes in an attempt to discern his mental age. “You’re supposed to be the better adult. I was just gonna say we can but we should do it somewhere more secluded, you know, where that’s not as many people around?”

Ohhh, that makes sense. Yeah, why the fuck don’t they just do that? Aleks should’ve said that in the first place, or at least give Brett a warning like _“hey, I’m going to kiss you except I’m NOT because we’re actually going to kiss somewhere else, cool? Cool. Please fuck me.”_ except Brett would never fuck Aleks in a club because Aleks deserves somewhere much better and more private but kissing? That’s game, uh… almost anywhere!

 

“You keep me young, Aleks,” Brett tells him. “And you help me keep the youth I still have.”

Aleks chuckles and with a smirk, he asks, “is that why you wanna fuck me again?” and then he intertwines his fingers with Brett to begin leading him away from the bar. “Want me to inject you with the youth from my fountain?”

There’s more people than him and Aleks in this club, Brett reminds himself. It’s why they’re going somewhere more secluded to kiss each other but when Aleks grabs his hand, when their fingers slide against one another like puzzle pieces, the warmth envelops him and takes Brett away into a world of pure fantasy.

But he doesn’t have to keep losing himself in that world, not when the reality is his fantasy come to life. _Almost_  all of his fantasies come to life but at this point, Brett would much rather live within these realms instead of delude himself into thinking the apex of his fantasies will ever come true. He doesn’t wanna shoot too high and completely miss the mark.

“If you were to inject me with your youth, don’t you think you’d have to put your dick inside me?” Brett asks as he squints his eyes at Aleks.

“Hey, there’s an idea.”

“I’m not opposed but you gotta give me like, I dunno, a few months to prepare myself for that.”

“Once you go bottom, you’ll never go back.”

“Is that why you’ve been a bottom for so long?”

“And with the way you’ll fuck me tonight, it’s gonna stay like that, my man.”

And how _is_ he going to fuck Aleks again anyways? Is it going to be like last time, where Aleks rode him and then he flipped Aleks onto his back? Should they change it up and go for some doggy style action? Ahhh, but Brett really likes looking at Aleks and how the expressions on his face change whenever Brett makes the slightest movement or says just the right thing… there’s too many positions! Why is sex so complicated!

Sex should be banned. Except for sex between him and Aleks. They are an outlier and should not be counted.

_Stop thinking so hard about it, you two will be fiiiiine._

 

Right as they turn into the hallway towards the lounge area, Aleks suddenly turns around to place a hand on Brett’s chest. “Wait!” he exclaims. “I got a sick idea, bro.”

“Hit me.”

Aleks’ whole face lights up and he looks over to the bar before he looks back to Brett with a wide smile. “Dude. _Body shots._ You don’t remember but like, when we were drunk at RTX, you did one off me and that was sort of like… you know.” He shrugs. “That’s what made everything else happen so like, we need to do them again, keep the good thing goin’, you know what I’m sayin’?”

Brett did a body shot off Aleks _and my bitch ass didn’t REMEMBER?!_ God damnit, he’s never going to get drunk again! He never minded it so much until now because he forgets crucial things that have happened between him and Aleks, like them making out back to back at a bar, the body shots, **_HOW DID I NOT REMEMBER DOING A BODY SHOT OFF ALEKS?,_ ** them almost having sex, etc. little things like that.

“You can NOT just tell me these things out of nowhere! Ahhhh,” Brett sighs and lulls his head back against the wall to look up at the ceiling. “But yes, body shots. We will do those, absolutely. And I’m not gonna forget this time,” Brett chuckles. “I’m gonna remember every single thing.”

“It was hot the last time you did it.” Aleks grins and moves forward to steal a peck from Brett’s lips before unlatching their hands. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have made out with you in front of everyone. Well, you made out with me-”

“You’re killing me,” Brett sighs.

“How about you punish me for it?” Aleks winks and twiddles his fingers at Brett as he takes a few steps back. “Get everything and meet me in the lounge. I’ll be waiting,” he says before he turns on his heel to strut down the hall and of course, Brett’s eyes dip down to watch Aleks take that thick ass with him.

_Hate to see you leave, love to watch you go._

 

 **[** **♪ ]** **_GUNSHIP - Fly For Your Life_**

 

“Okay, Brett,” he mumbles to himself as he goes the other direction back to the bar. “Body shots…”

 

_“We own the sky… you and I…”_

 

Brett walks up to the bar and orders everything necessary and as he waits, he looks around to survey the crowd. That guy creepily leering at Aleks is no longer with his buddies and Brett, thankfully, doesn’t see him in his vicinity, not even in the crowd. He doesn’t recognize any faces in the crowd either and they might as well be the same people as it was last time - the only person he had eyes on, who he still has eyes on, is Aleks.

He grins and looks down to the counter in reflection as he recounts his and Aleks’ friendship so far and what they’ve been through together, the many situations they’ve found themselves in and the people they’ve had to deal with on the way to this moment right here.

 

_“Take it tonight… fly for your life…”_

 

Brett wants to think that maybe it was fate, for Aleks’ landlord to give his apartment away to somebody else. If that hadn’t have happened, then Aleks wouldn’t be living with him and their friendship wouldn’t have grown into this thing that it is now. Living in such close quarters has brought them together and they’ve learned all sorts of new, exciting things about each other that they wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Aleks has become so much more confident too. Brett still sees the shy core of Aleks whenever they’re truly alone, when he doesn’t have to display a radical mask, but that mask he puts on has become a part of him as well. Aleks is becoming the person he wants to be and Brett wants to think he’s played a part in that.

 

_“There’s one thing I know for sure - you gotta fly for your life.”_

 

Perhaps these changes in Aleks is what has made Brett’s attraction to him grow stronger in these past months.

What were once fleeting thoughts of _I really wonder what he’d look like underneath me_ is now constant thoughts of _I really wish he could be mine_  and that’s not something Brett has anticipated but he wouldn’t even change that, not even with the knowledge that he and Aleks won’t be anything more.

 

_“You’ve got those dangerous eyes, you’ve got those dangerous…”_

 

Aleksandr Marchant is beyond descriptions of every kind.

He is simply _Aleksandr_ and that, to Brett, is the best that anybody, any single _thing,_ can be.

He still wishes he could find one succinct word, one catch all phrase to compare him with... why has that been so hard?

 

_“One I’ve never seen before - silhouette into the sun.”_

 

“Sir? Excuse me?”

“Fuck, sorry, dude.” Brett chuckles nervously and takes everything with a nod. “Thanks man, have a good one.”

Brett comes back down the hall and successfully evades the people running his way, either by themselves or holding the hands of their partners. He and Aleks aren’t the only ones getting lucky tonight but they’re the only ones that matter.

 

_“Are you ready to burn? Are you ready…”_

 

He makes it to the end to see the open area of the lounge, white sectionals around the perimeter and black tables in front with flyers advertising the club’s themed nights on top. The lights continue with the calm blue colors but now it’s highlighted by pinks and they tint the sectionals, some blending with the blue to form a romantic magenta. This color reflects more off the hardwood floors and the lounge ends up radiating a cozy vibe that promotes cuddling up real close with that special person and for Brett, that special person is Aleks.

 

_“We’ll keep falling in love…”_

 

So why the _fuck_  is _Jersey Shore Knockoff Guy_  sliding his hand onto Aleks’ fucking knee, whispering into Aleks’ ear, like Aleks is fucking _his_ when Aleks is _Brett’s?_

After every fucking thing Brett has been through to fuck Aleks, all of the fucking hesitation and inner turmoil he’s had with himself, the men and occasional women who have been dying to have their way with Aleks, and this fucking jack off is going to reap Brett’s hard fucking work, wrap Aleks in those ‘roided up arms, and have his fucking way with him? On what goddamn fucking planet does he think he’s from, if he can even name any other fucking planets because he’s probably stupid, he has to be real fucking stupid if he thinks Aleks is going to be _his._

No.

Ohhh no, no, _no._

Brett is going to die before that dude gets his chance with Aleks.

He’s waited too goddamn long for this fucking moment, for this fucking night, and this guy is intent on ruining it and sure, Brett might wanna ruin Aleks in every single way there is to ruin somebody but he plans to put Aleks back together with his loving hands and he’s going to take his sweet time with him and cherish him like the treasure he is.

**_ALEKS IS MINE._ **

Aleks is the moon to Brett’s stars, and Brett will _not_  let anybody take his precious moon away from him.

 

_”Oh, it’s a miracle! I got spirit, I got wings!”_

 

Everything Brett has for the body shot falls to the wayside and it all drops onto the floor without another thought as he patrols a hasty, yet calculated path that’ll be the quickest route to Aleks and that douchebag. He isn’t even fully in front of them when he loudly calls out, “dude, leave my fucking boyfriend alone!”

 

_“I got fire in my lungs...”_

 

Aleks and the guy snap their heads to look at Brett and Aleks’ eyes blow open in a pleading expression as he shifts away from the other man. “Babe, hey!” he calls back as he stands up from the sectional. “Where did you go with our body shot?”

“Boyfriend?” Douchebag scoffs and shakes his head. “Naw, dude, I didn’t know you-”

“Dude, you’ve been eyeing him all fucking night,” Brett laughs humorlessly as he fully closes the distance and he stands right in between Douchebag and Aleks. “I can handle admiration from afar but you better fucking remember that he’s a masterpiece you can’t touch.”

Douchebag swallows and narrows his eyes at Brett, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was just trying to be friendly with him, I don’t get your problem.”

 

_“I don’t know what you’re fighting for - you better fly for your life.”_

 

“Ha!” Brett looks back to Aleks and points back to Douchebag with his thumb. “Friendly. He says he was being _friendly,”_ he says as he smiles over at Douchebag, way too big for it to be genuine. “I saw you sliding your hand up my boyfriend’s knee and whispering into his ear from like, miles away, don’t lie to me.”

Douchebag rolls his eyes and steps forward. “You need to chill, man-”

The big smile instantly vanishes as Brett grits through his teeth, “Back the _fuck_ off. Or I swear to god-”

“What are you gonna do about it?” asks Douchebag as he steps up into Brett’s space.

 

_“It’s just another disguise…”_

 

“You wanna try me, asshole?” Brett asks lowly as he stares down into Douchebag’s eyes. “Go right ahead.”

Douchebag swallows and continues to stare into Brett’s eyes but Brett’s stare is unrelenting and it’s clear he’s not backing down. He’s intent on establishing who the alpha male is and he’s so focused that he isn’t registering the way Aleks is holding onto his hips from behind, glaring at Douchebag from behind Brett’s shoulder.

 

_“Do you ever think of me - cause you’re the ghost in my heart.”_

 

After what apparently feels like the longest dick measuring contest in the world, Douchebag shakes his head and takes a step back, says “you’re crazy, you and your fucking boyfriend,” before he storms away to meet up with the rest of his orange friends.

Presumably, they’ll go back to their rightful place on Jersey Shore. Brett can only hope they’re sued for infringing on copyright.

 

_“You’ve got those dangerous eyes…”_

 

Brett sighs and rolls his eyes, reaching up to adjust his hat so it was backwards once more. “Jesus christ, some people,” he mumbles before turning around. “Aleks, dude, I’m so-”

“That was so fucking hot,” Aleks breathes as he lunges forward to grab onto Brett’s shoulder to anchor himself so he can seal his lips with Brett in a crushing kiss that holds the power of blocking out everybody, the bartenders and creeps and regulars, and everything, like the light fixtures and music and alcohol tinged smells.

 

_“We’ll keep falling in love…”_

 

It doesn’t take long at all for Brett to reciprocate, his lips crushing Aleks’ and his hands pressing on the small of his back, and it should take long because it admittedly wasn’t something he was expecting from Aleks but his body is becoming quite accustomed to Aleks’ lips and it responds on instinct.

Now when Aleks kisses him, Brett is powered by a fundamental force that propagates at light speed, completely takes him and his senses over and it’s the only force powerful enough to drive him to instantly slot his lips with Aleks and that force can’t be mistaken for anything but one word in particular, a word that easily gets tossed around but means so many things.

This one word, this one simple four letter word, yields so much energy and it compels people to act out uncharacteristically, all in the name for something or someone.

_Love._

Every bite of the lips, every movement of their tongues sets off an entire firework display of electric signals that course through the both of their bodies and lights up their datastream again. All sense of time and space is lost and they’re completely enraptured in each other, so caught up in what they’re doing, and they’re swayed by all the possibilities this long, passionate kiss means.

 

_“We own the sky… you and I…”_

 

Brett presses his fingertips into Aleks’ back and drags them up along the expanse and right when they begin their downward track, Aleks slides his hand to the nape of Brett’s neck so when he pulls away, he can press their foreheads together. He breathes against Brett’s lips, his eyes closed, and he says, “here’s what we’re gonna do. Are you listening?”

Brett nods.

“We’re gonna go home,” Aleks whispers. “Right now. And then you’re gonna fuck me. Hard.”

 

_“Take it tonight… fly for your life.”_

 

Okay, absolutely, they’re gonna go home, right now, and then Brett’s gonna - _what’s happening now?_

“What are we doing?” he breathes.

“You’re gonna fuck me,” Aleks tells him again. “So fucking hard.”

“But our body shots-”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“... we didn’t even dance-”

“I really don’t give a fuck.”

 

_“We’ll keep falling in love…”_

 

“... shouldn’t we-”

“BRETT, JESUS,” Aleks breaks apart from Brett with a sigh and runs his hands down his face. “Duuude, I’m asking you to take me home right now and fuck me senseless, why are you making this so hard, it’s like fucking James with Lindsey, I tell him to do the obvious fucking thing and he just-”

“Exactly, James and Lindsey!” Brett points out. “Shouldn’t we figure out where they are first?”

“Brett!” Aleks exclaims on the edge of a voice crack. “Me! You! Sex! They’re adults! They’re adults with responsibilities who can take care of themselves! It’s fine!”

Brett can’t find it within himself to keep arguing Aleks’ astute logic and reasoning, especially when the prize for mindlessly agreeing with him is fucking his thick ass, hard and senseless. It doesn’t mean he won’t send Lindsey a text on the way home in their Uber to make sure she and James are doing fine and haven’t been snagged by a serial killer but everything before and after?

Aleks is receiving his full attention.

 

_“Oh, it’s a miracle! I got spirit, I got wings!”_

 

He takes Aleks’ hand and looks him in the eyes as he asks, “are you gonna get the Uber?”

Aleks breathes in deeply and nods with a small smile before he fishes into his pocket with his hand for his phone. “On it.”

Brett nods in return and tightens the grip on Aleks’ hand. “Then let’s go,” he says before he quickly makes his way back out of the lobby.

Not once, does Brett look back.

And after tonight, he’ll never look back again.

 

_“We’ll keep falling in love… we’ll keep falling in love…”_

  



	31. Ends Of The Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett ditch the club so they can do the one thing that matters most - each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the second to last chapter and I am. Not. Okay.
> 
> But they're both super good. And super hot :') I promise - these are, like, the best scenes in the entire fic.

****Aleks and Brett didn’t stay at the club as long as they did the first time and Aleks was hoping to dance a little with Brett but it’s fine! They can just do a sexy dance of their own in the privacy of their home. With very little clothing.

Naked, actually.

In bed.

… with Brett’s penis inside him. _Scandalous._

In the comfortable confines of their home, they can explore each other every which way and fully appreciate the other in methods that could never be expressed under voyeuristic eyes. What could be done in the club would only be a very tame preview for what’s to come later in the dark night and hopefully the night is never ending so they’ll never have to wake up and see the sunrise.

There was an opportunity, however, to make out in the Uber...

_“Okay, so Lindsey and James are at a bar down the street,” Brett says as he shoves his phone away. “Crisis avert-”_

_Aleks cuts Brett off by kissing him right on the lips, intending for it to be deep but Brett pulls away before Aleks can shove his tongue into his mouth and Aleks groans his disapproval. “Dude, come on-”_

_“No!” Brett shakes his head and looks to the front mirror. “We’re in an Uber!”_

_“He probably gets shit like this all the time, stop being a pussy and kiss me,” Aleks hisses quietly as he swats Brett’s shoulder._

_“Oh, NOW you’re complaining about not being able to kiss me.”_

_“Because we’re fucking alone-”_

_“No, we’re not!”_

_“Dude, we’re BASICALLY alone-”_

_“Aleks, I’m not-”_

_“You know,” interjects the driver, “for 50 bucks, you two could fuck back there if you wanted. I’m chill.”_

_Aleks gives Brett a pointed look with raised eyebrows as he crosses his arms over his chest._

_Brett narrows his eyes at Aleks and shakes his head, rolling his eyes before he looks back to the driver “Okay, uh… how much for a makeout session?”_

_“Listen, man, that happens way too much,” says the driver. “Go at it, I don’t give a fuck.”_

_“Hey dude, what’s your name?” Aleks asks. “It was Davell, right?”_

_“Mmhm.”_

_Aleks winks and points a finger gun at him. “You’re getting 5 stars and a good tip, Davell,” he says before he undoes his seatbelt to quickly straddle Brett’s lap. “Kiss me, baby.”_

_Brett sighs and holds onto Aleks’ waist. “Fine, you win,” he sighs. “Come here…”_

… obviously, they made good use of that opportunity. Making out with a hot older guy is much preferable than awkward small talk with the Uber driver, even if he did seem like a super chill dude.

 

They stumble out of the car as soon as it parks in front of their place and then they race to the front door. While Brett tries to unlock the front door, Aleks hops in place and looks all around their street, the many facets illuminated by the bright twinkle of starlight far in the distance of the dark blue skies, aided by the full moonlight. The moon has finally caught up to the stars and everything is falling into place.

The stars might always be there waiting for the moon but what they don’t know is how hard the moon works to be with them again, even for only a night, because it’s better than no time with the stars at all.

Aleks then looks side to side to make sure they don’t get hit by like, Jehovah’s Witnesses or any other annoyances, because he doesn’t want anymore interruptions tonight. He doesn’t want another creepy guy trying to make a move on him or somebody bumping into him without even an apology. Aleks just wants his and Brett’s flesh hotly sliding against and into each other all through the night and when Brett opens that door, when Aleks follows him inside, they’re already back on that path as their lips press onto each other’s once more.

Brett has Aleks’ face framed perfectly in his strong hands, how he pinpoints the best way making out with Aleks could be. Aleks’ head can’t move too much but he makes up for it with his rapidly wandering hands as they try to pinpoint the best place on Brett’s body to grab and there’s so many parts - those biceps, those shoulders, maybe even his ass but then Aleks realizes the reason he can’t identify that perfect place is because all of them fit the criteria and his hands only wander so much because he wants as much of Brett as he can take.

He has to settle for one place to grab onto, however, because he’ll drift away into the night skies above if he doesn’t and so he grabs onto Brett’s shoulders but that’s when Brett suddenly grabs the back of his thighs, hoists Aleks into the air so he can slam him down onto the couch. There’s a brief window where their lips part and Aleks stares into Brett’s eyes with the darkest his own has ever been, a mix of utter mystification and lust at the older man’s phenomenal strength, but then Brett slams his lips back onto Aleks’ with a loud groan as he holds his arms up by either side of Aleks.

Brett bites at Aleks’ lips, drags them out with his teeth, side by side, before he kisses the slight pain better. He pecks at Aleks’ lips constantly, peck after bite after peck after bite, and Aleks gives his mouth to Brett, just like he’s gave everything else of his to the man, but his hands have a mind of their own as they grab at the front of Brett’s button up shirt. Aleks tightens the hold he has on the shirt, digs his nails into the fabric, so he can suddenly split it open and his reward is the sound of buttons popping onto the hardwood floors.

Brett breathes out a laugh as he pulls away from Aleks’ mouth and he sits up on his knees in between Aleks’ legs. “Couldn’t undo my shirt the proper way?” he asks as he shrugs his shirt off his shoulders before flinging it carelessly to the side.

“Can’t fucking wait for this shit anymore, dude,” Aleks mumbles. “Your shirt’s a casualty, sorry.”

He’s transfixed by Brett’s built torso and it might be a bit more on the husky side but that’s even hotter, if you ask Aleks. It’s not a supermodel body like you see in a Calvin Klein ad, it’s damn close, but those ads wouldn’t feature a man with a hairy chest or a manicured trail of hair that dips beneath the waistband of their jeans like Brett’s body does.

For Aleks, Brett has always been the perfect picture of manliness and besides his glowing personality, it’s why he started crushing on him so long ago. Brett was so handsome, fuck, he still is, except now he’s the most handsome man Aleks has ever seen. He’s handsome, he’s hot, he’s sexy, he’s beautiful, he’s every fucking positive descriptor under the sun and a man like _that_ wants to fuck somebody like… like him?

_Why does he want me so much?_

 

Brett’s eyes follow Aleks’ eyesight and he raises his eyebrows when he notices Aleks’ stare lingering on his torso. He licks along his lips in thought as he backs up on the couch to grab the sides of Aleks’ pants, and he says, “how about we even the playing field, huh? Take these off.”

Aleks blinks down to his belt and undoes it from his pants with swift ease despite his shaking hands and he hears the metal _clank_  against the floor as he pulls down the zipper. Once the button is undone, Brett can fully pull his skinny jeans down, along with his boxers, and there’s some slight difficulty as he does it but Brett realizes the reasoning for that when he sees a familiar pair of black thigh highs encasing the majority of Aleks’ legs.

Aleks watches as the surprise plays out on Brett’s face before it ebbs into the realm of lust - widened eyes and a dropped jaw turns to slitted eyes and pressed lips, and Brett’s tongue darts out to swipe along the top of his lips as he surveys Aleks’ body. Aleks smirks and shifts around on the couch so he can get comfortable under Brett’s heated gaze and he even spreads his legs a bit more.

Aleks has grown in confidence over these past few months and you’d think that with Brett wanting to fuck him, it’d add to that exponentially but it doesn’t. It just turns Aleks back into that lovestruck boy he was a few years ago that worries over what to do and what to say to impress Brett, to make Brett _like_  him and not think of him as such a fool so maybe that’s why Aleks wants to submit to Brett as much as he does tonight.

He wants to do everything in his power to please Brett. Every expectation Brett has, Aleks wants to exceed them. He needs to show Brett, just like the first time, why fucking his sweet ass is a good idea - why it should continue to be a good idea. If Brett fucking loves thigh highs and wants to ruin Aleks in them, then doesn’t it just make sense for Aleks to wear them when they haven’t fucked in god, _2 weeks?_

No more teasing. No more waiting games. He and Brett need to get serious and Aleks _seriously_  needs Brett inside him.

“What do you think?” Aleks asks as his own eyes dip down to watch his own hands splay out over the top of his thigh highs, right where they end, and his nails slowly drag down the fabric, then back up. He rolls his lips back and wets them before he lets go with a smack, allows his eyes to scan Brett’s body from the bottom and up so he can get a good look at that manly torso before he makes eye contact with the older man, commanding his attention.

“What do I think?” Brett asks, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Do you like it, daddy?” Aleks asks hopefully as he runs his hands up by his crotch, lets his fingers graze along his length before one moves down to the crack of his ass. His fingers trail along the crack and brush over his hole and after exhaling a shuddering breath, he says, “I wore these for you, you know. I _only_ wore these for you.”

“And that’s what makes it so hot,” Brett notes. “You’d only wear them for me…” he huffs a breath through his nose and shakes his head. “Fuck,” he chuckles. “Why are you… Aleks, you’re hot. Like…” he flings his hat off before he sits back against the couch. “Seriously, you’re too hot.”

“Too hot?” Aleks raises his eyebrows with piqued interest as he sits up on his knees. “Dude, I don’t think that’s a thing.”

“Trust me, it is.” Brett licks his lips as he looks over to Aleks and then holds out his hand, twiddling his fingers. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Aleks snorts and glances to Brett’s denim clad erection, _I think I have a good idea,_ before he takes his hand. “You keep saying all this shit to me, dude, like that and that I’m…” he chuckles and shakes his head as he climbs onto Brett’s lap. “Remember when you said I was beyond description?”

Brett breathes out, “you are”, as he rests his hands over Aleks’ thighs. “You really are, like, I can’t perfectly tell you how… how _amazingly_  good looking you are.”

Aleks’ breath hitches and his chest tenses at the implication of Brett’s words - because that’s not something you throw around without a care, unless you’re desperate to get some action but he knows Brett isn’t like that. If he was, then Brett would’ve gave into Aleks a lot sooner and honestly, that wouldn’t be so fun. The wait for Brett was worth it and Aleks is excited for what they’re going to do - doesn’t mean he wants to wait again for him but he’s fine waiting if he has to.

He just wonders why Brett feels the same way.

 

“Can you try?” Aleks asks quietly. “Just…” he shrugs and tilts his head as he rests a hand on Brett’s cheek. He smiles down at Brett while his thumb moves back and forth along his cheek, hoping to coax some words out of that beautiful mouth. “Just say what’s on your mind.”

“I can’t,” Brett whispers. “I wish I could, but-”

“But what?” Aleks wonders. “Why not?”

Brett blinks a few times and breathes in deeply as he raises a hand to Aleks’ cheek to copy his actions with as much fondness as Aleks is doing. He glances to Aleks’ lips before he gazes into his eyes and Aleks hums, tilts his head into Brett’s hand and raises his eyebrows, almost as if to say, _you can tell me anything._

Brett’s shoulders slump and the corner of his lip tilts up into a soft smile but the look in his eyes gives away the sad semblance the smile tries to hide. He huffs a chuckle through his nose and the hand on Aleks’ cheek moves up to stroke back through his hair until it lays on the nape of his neck and Brett sits up straight, wraps his other arm around Aleks’ waist, and says, “just bear with me. I’m trying to get some words together.”

Aleks wets his lips and closes his eyes, whispers “maybe this will help”, as he leans forward to kiss Brett. It’s a simple peck on the lips but he lets his linger, for a good amount of time, and hopes that the feel of his lips will put Brett at ease. After all, if Aleks feels at ease when Brett kisses him, then it’s logical to assume that Brett would feel similar - even if Aleks doesn’t quite understand why, but then that’s what he’s trying to figure out.

And what was intended to be a simple lingering kiss becomes far greater, by Brett’s own volition. Brett tilts his head and kisses the corner of Aleks’ lips, kisses over to the middle of them before he slowly licks the tip of his tongue along the line of Aleks’ mouth and Aleks’ lips swiftly part with no protest on his end.

Brett’s exploration of Aleks’ mouth is more of a leisurely hike through the most mystical mountains, wanting to take his time and fully explore all the sights there is so he doesn’t waste a rare opportunity, unless a better one presents itself, and it does when Aleks’ tongue collides with his. Brett puts his hike on hold so their tongues can share an elegant waltz and for such a new development in their friendship, their tongues are the opposite and are rather seasoned - no awkward pacing or sloppiness, like the both of them have went over every possible action so when this moment did happen, it would be perfect.

While Brett is the originator of the slow and sensual kiss, he is also the torturous end. It’s like painfully pulling off a band-aid with how slow he drags his lips away and then, he still wants more. He glances open into Aleks’ eyes, quickly searches his face for any hesitation and when his scan yields no results, his eyes close again and when that happens, he bumps his nose against Aleks’, nuzzles them back and forth before he kisses Aleks one last time, in the same lingering way that Aleks had intended from the start.

Even when Brett finally pulls away, the static from the addicting aftershocks continue to prickle at Aleks’ body and it makes his hairs stand on end. Kissing Brett should be never ending and in the silence afterwards, Aleks wonders if they can escape the limits of time so that can be possible. He wants to go back to that celestial datastream and never leave because in that state of limbo, he and Brett can just _be_ , they can be holograms that only respond to each other, each other’s touch and voice, they don’t have to worry about a single goddamn thing.

He feels so empty without Brett. It aches, deep inside, and spreads all over.

“I never wanna stop kissing you,” Brett whispers against his lips as he gently scratches at the back of Aleks’ scalp. “I wish we had all the time in the world.”

But at least that empty feeling is mutual.

“The night is ours,” Aleks tells him as he presses their foreheads together, a hand holding onto the back of Brett’s head and the other splaying out over his collarbone. “Do whatever you want with me.”

“If I kiss you again, I won’t be able to tell you how hot I think you are.” Brett raises an eyebrow at Aleks as he slightly pulls away, enough to stare into his eyes with a knowing glint in his own. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“Well,” Aleks shrugs and looks up to the ceiling with a smile, “yeah.”

“So let me tell you all about it.” Brett wets his lips and looks down to Aleks’, taking a deep breath before he sits up straight against the couch. As he looks back up into Aleks’ eyes, he says with a smile, “let me tell you all about how beautiful and gorgeous and hot and sexy and _handsome_  I think you are.”

“You don’t think I’m pretty?”

“You don’t like being called pretty.”

“I don’t mind it too much when it comes from you.”

“What about twinky?”

“That’s still a hard pass, bro.”

Brett chuckles and nods. “Alright, that’s understandable. Well okay, where to start with you… should we go sexual right off the bat and talk about this thick ass,” his hands move down to grab ahold of Aleks’ asscheeks in both hands, “or... do you wanna start more sentimental?” He narrows his eyes questioningly at Aleks as his hands proceed to slowly run up the curvature of his back, then down, fingertips pressing into the skin and the nails ever so slightly grazing to leave the most faint marks in their wake. “The small parts of you that not many others notice?”

The sexual descriptions sound enticing but Aleks is quite curious as to what idiosyncrasies Brett notices about him, if there even are any. Brett says it with such conviction too and he says “parts”, plural, which means there’s quite a few things he’s noticed but _why?_ Why does he notice these things? What is it about himself, Aleks thinks, that draws Brett to him like they’re opposite ends of the magnet?

He still doesn’t get it. Maybe he never will but hopefully this can be the start to figuring that out.

 

Aleks smiles and settles down on Brett’s lap, gets real nice and comfortable as he tells Brett to “start sentimental. And we’ll work our way up.”

“Sentimental it is.” Brett hums and looks back and forth between Aleks’ eyes before he smiles and chuckles. “Well, for one… when you laugh, like, really hard, your eyes crinkle at the ends and I think it’s so cute.”

Aleks absent-mindedly brings up a hand to feel at the ends of his eyes and the smile on his face grows at how utterly thoughtful the compliment is. It’s not what he was expecting but now that he knows, he wants to see where else Brett will go with this.

“Your voice tends to get deeper when you’re alone in a video,” Brett points out. “And sometimes you lower it when you’re around your friends but with me, it’s naturally soft and it’s kind of high and I love it like that.”

It’s funny that Brett says that when he often makes fun of his own nasally voice but Aleks is sort of in the same boat, isn’t he? He intentionally lowers his voice depending on his surroundings, who he’s talking to, but when he’s truly comfortable, there’s no mask he has to put on, no filter in his head that finetunes him into a person who he thinks is the epitome of cool.

“Just like I love your voice,” Aleks shares. “And your smile - like, your smile lights up a room.”

“Hey, I’m admiring you right now,” Brett steals a peck to Aleks’ lips before he sits back again. “Admire me later.”

“Mmm, fine.” Aleks narrows his eyes and nods his head upwards. “Go on.”

“You’re always fixing your hair when it looks fine,” Brett laughs fondly and takes the hand on Aleks’ neck to run back through his hair a few times, ruffling it at the end and laughing even more when Aleks’ face scrunches in distaste.

As Aleks fixes his hair, he mumbles, “doesn’t look fine right now.”

 _“Stop_ , it does,” Brett assures. “Your hair looks great no matter what you do, whether you let it grow out or cut it short, whether you dye it some bright shade of orange or go full platinum, it looks so good. Every little thing you do, every sound you make and every little expression on your face, it just captivates me because…” he shrugs and shakes his head as he looks Aleks’ face all over. “God, Aleks,” Brett breathes while his hand cups Aleks’ cheek, grazes back and forth along his cheekbone. _“Aleks,_ you’re so funny. And you’re chill, but you’re honest, you care about your friends and your family, you’re so damn sweet, and creative and _passionate,_ and you’re such a _good person_ and that’s what makes you beyond description. That’s why it’s so hard to categorize you or find the words to say, because you’re more than words could ever describe. They could make new words, new phrases, but it still won’t be enough.” Brett swallows and shakes his head again, shoulders slumping before he quietly tells Aleks, “it will never be enough.”

The gravity of Brett’s words are heavy, so damn heavy, and it weighs Aleks down, all the way that he sinks through the couch and the floor and soon, he’s vanished from this world entirely and into a portal that sends him into a mainframe solely designed to replay Brett’s words, over and over again until Aleks remembers that everything Brett said to him really happened.

Brett, the former man of Aleks’ dreams, has not the words to explain Aleks’ impeccable beauty. There are so many worlds of ways to explain it, all sorts of permutations and out of all of the millions and millions of them, not one can describe Aleks in the way Brett wants. What results are rambled expressions of passion as Brett’s internal system tries to put something out there for Aleks’ sake and it might not be entirely what Brett wants to say, because he said it himself that it will never be enough, but for Aleks, it is.

Everything Brett does and says is enough for Aleks. But there’s still one question nagging at his mind...

“Why?” Aleks asks. “Why do you care so much about me?”

Brett opens his mouth, like the words will magically flow, but he’s struck speechless. He bites on his tongue and blinks down to Aleks’ lips, then gnaws his teeth along his bottom lip in deep thought. Blinking a few times, he closes his eyes and with a shrug, he answers, “I just do,” and then he opens his eyes again in an almost… pleading expression, _but what is he pleading for?_

Aleks feels like there’s a lot more to the answer for that and for a man who just rattled off a whole paragraph or two about how beautiful he is, he knows Brett is holding back but Aleks doesn’t wanna risk ruining this moment. His lips press together and after taking a deep breath, he decides that they should move onto the next level and shift from sentimental words to verbal sexual gratification.

Sex is a lot easier to talk about than emotions. Aleks knows that for a fact.

 

“Okay,” Aleks whispers. “Well… you wanna start on the sexual stuff?” he asks as he tilts his head, blinks up to Brett with a raised eyebrow. “Bet you like my lips, right?”

“So much, Aleks,” Brett breathes as his fingers move from Aleks’ cheek so he can glide his thumb along Aleks’ lips. “You have such pretty lips.”

Aleks asks, “did they look pretty wrapped around your cock?”, before he kisses the tip of Brett’s thumb, suckling briefly before he kisses it again, and repeats this as Brett begins to talk again - and he sounds just like that confident man Aleks fucked in that hotel room 2 weeks ago.

“Fuck yes, they did. God, they looked so damn pretty.” Brett is mesmerized by the way Aleks sucks his thumb and when Aleks glances up into his eyes, he can’t help the groan that pushes past his lips. “Shit, I’m so glad you convinced me that it'd be a great idea because it was, it really was, and then you sucked me so damn good, baby.”

“Love it when you call me that,” Aleks murmurs against his thumb.

“Baby?”

“Yes, daddy.”

There’s an oddly reassuring quality about the nickname that Aleks likes and anytime Brett calls him it, there’s a wave of safety that washes over him - though he always feels safe in Brett’s presence. It’s why he doesn’t mind giving up every semblance of his being to Brett tonight, on top of the multitude of other reasons. He trusts Brett with his life.

_I wanna belong to him._

Brett grins hugely and swipes his tongue along his teeth before he moves his hands to Aleks’ thighs. “And daddy fucking loves your body, baby...” His hands then roam upwards to Aleks’ sides and push up at the fabric of his shirt. “Come on, take this off for me, let daddy see your sexy body.”

And Aleks does exactly what he says, he grabs the hem of his shirt and drags it upwards on his body before he tosses it off somewhere in the room to be long forgotten. The thigh highs won’t be coming off for the remainder of the night, unless Brett literally tears them apart and that’d be fucking hot, Aleks would be all for that shit, but all of the important parts of his body are now on display. That job is done.

Aleks looks to Brett as he rests his hands on top of his own shoulders and then he dips his head down to watch as his hands slowly cascade down from his shoulders, rest on his pecs and the fingers spread to cover them, nipples showing through the spaces of his fingers. With a small moan, Aleks rubs his hands up and down to stimulate the buds and his eyes lid close at the almost soothing sensation.

“So goddamn gorgeous,” Brett murmurs as he returns his hands to Aleks’ slender sides to run them up and down.  “Your body is just so _right_ , you know? You got the sexiest body I’ve ever seen, every fucking thing about it, from your sides to your chest to your legs, your thighs, _fuck,_ I can’t wait to wreck every part of it.”

It’s never going to come quick enough. Brett could throw Aleks down right now but it still wouldn’t be fast enough for Aleks’ liking. Fast enough would be like, Brett fucking Aleks before he left Texas but _nooo,_ he had to tease Aleks and be a big man, _ooh, look at me, I’m Brett and instead of pounding Aleks’ ass, I’m gonna pound my hands together a lot! My arms are tree trunks!!_

… okay, Aleks sort of had it coming for being a tease himself but look what good that got them! Now Aleks is naked on Brett’s shirtless body and Brett is praising everything about him! _Despicable._

 

“And I love how pale you are,” Brett chuckles, “I really do, because it makes it so much easier to leave a mark-”

“Mark me,” Aleks breathes. “Right now, please.”

“Getting pretty demanding. Please, what?”

Aleks whines and screws his eyes shut as he runs his hands back up to hold onto the hair at the sides of his head, gently tugging at the strands in his slight exasperation. “Please, daddy, mark me up and make me yours.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Brett purrs and lids his eyes shut as he moves his head forward to Aleks’ neck. “Give yourself to me, baby…”

Aleks moans with relief and relaxes on Brett’s lap as Brett sucks onto his skin, which does the added honors of sucking out more of that aching feeling of emptiness. It still lingers inside Aleks and chances are, it’s going to linger until Brett finally pushes inside but for now, knowing that _he belongs to Brett_  in this instant, it gets the job done.

“Thank you, daddy,” Aleks moans and drops his hands to Brett’s shoulders. “Fuuuck, I love your mouth.”

Brett glances up to Aleks and raises his eyebrows in acknowledgement, grins against his skin before he goes harder with his mouth. He fully sinks his teeth into Aleks’ skin and bites down hard, dragging his mouth side to side as he sucks and grazing his teeth along the skin before he slowly pulls away to admire the dark red mark high on Aleks’ neck.

“Feeling better, baby?” Brett looks back to Aleks.

With a nod, Aleks hums his approval and closes his eyes as he brings his hand up to rest over the fresh wound on his neck. He rolls his lips back before exhaling a sigh and his fingers press into the mark, a visual reminder whenever he looks into a reflective surface that _he’s Brett’s._

“I’ll get back on track,” Brett assures, “but for now, lemme just have some fun…”

That’s when Brett presses an open mouth kiss to the middle of Aleks’ chest and his hands move up to hold onto the back of Aleks’ shoulders, keeping him steady as his lips brush over to one of his nipples. Brett’s wet lips rub over the nipple and his tongue sticks out to trail along it before it laps straight at the bud and Aleks moans loudly in response, digs his nails into Brett’s shoulders and claws at the skin.

 _“Brett,”_ Aleks whimpers.

“You did say you love my mouth,” Brett chuckles.

“So fucking _much.”_

It’s like Brett’s tongue knows which buttons to press to make Aleks melt, enough that his body can be bent and pushed into any way Brett desires and Brett isn’t even fucking doing this to his dick or his ass, it’s just his _nipples_ and Aleks is both fearful and excited for the implications that means. Will he pass out from the pure pleasure or will he just be reduced to a screaming husk?

He really wants to find out, but in due time… just not too much time.

 

Brett nips at Aleks’ nipple and it’s actually rather gentle, more loving than anything else, but it doesn’t fail to pull a cry from Aleks’ mouth and if Brett wasn’t holding onto him so tightly, he’d definitely fold in his lap. (Un)fortunately, this is when Brett lets go to continue the ABC’s of Aleks’ beauty.

“Your moans?” Brett whistles and takes his hand off Aleks’ shoulder so Aleks can see him make the “ok” sign with his fingers. “That’s good shit.”

“Think I’ve moaned more in 5 minutes with you than a whole night with anybody else,” Aleks admits. “You’re too fucking good, dude.”

“I certainly try my best.” Brett licks along his lips and his now free hand moves down to press on Aleks’ stomach. “Especially for you.”

Aleks looks down when he feels warmth on his stomach and then he immediately looks up and to the side. “Oh yeah, cool, you like my fat stomach-”

“Are you fucking…” Brett shakes his head quickly and widens his eyes. “Excuse me? _Fat?_ Aleks, shut the fuck up-”

“I’m gaining weight, dude.”

“I don’t fucking see it and even if you did, who cares?” Brett scoffs. “Actually, your pudgy stomach-”

“I told you I’m gaining weight!”

“Shut up, you’re not and I like your stomach a lot. I think it’s sexy.”

Aleks rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Can you go back to something more traditional?”

“Awww, come on, that’s sexual _and_  sentimental, it’s the best of both worlds!”

“Stop looking at my stomach and look at like, every fucking thing else about me. Do I gotta show off again?”

Brett shrugs and crosses his arms behind his head. “Certainly wouldn’t hurt.” He grins and looks up to Aleks before he carelessly waves his hand. “Go on, baby, give daddy a show.”

Aleks narrows his eyes challengingly at Brett before he presses his hands on top his pecs and then he looks back down to watch as they begin the slow descent down the center of his body. He closes his eyes and lulls his head back with a quiet moan as his hands make it towards his hipbones, fingertips pressing into the indents before they dance back up along his slender sides.

“You’re giving daddy exactly what he wants to see, baby,” Brett praises in a low tone as his hand moves down to palm at his bulge with a moan. “God, keep going.”

Aleks drops his head between his shoulders to watch Brett with dark, heated eyes as his hands move to his shoulders again. They press on the sides of his neck and then ascend into the strands of his hair lying at the back of his head and it messes his hair up, he wants to fix it, but Brett likes it so he won’t do a thing about it. He throws his hands up into the air before they curve down, one threading itself in the back of Brett’s hair while the other lays on the side of his neck and he tilts his head, presses his forehead against Brett’s and whispers against his lips, “what else does daddy like about my body?”

“Besides the fact that you know how to move it?” Brett hums and looks down the length of his body, narrowing his eyes in thoughtful scrutinization before he brings his hands around to grab Aleks’ asscheeks. “Hmm, but these are definitely the top highlight.”

“Daddy loves my thick ass, doesn’t he?”

“You know he does, baby,” Brett whispers. “It’s so _tight,”_ he squeezes the cheeks hard, “and it’s so soft too,” he gives one of the cheeks a good spank and grins at the mixed moan and groan that falls from Aleks’ lips against his, “like it was made to be spanked. Or touched…” He licks along his lips and looks up into Aleks’ eyes. “But it was _especially_  made to be fucked.”

“Made to be fucked by _you,”_ Aleks corrects in a purr, arching his body into Brett and moaning when his hard cock presses against Brett’s body. “I belong to you, I didn’t forget that.”

“That’s right, baby.” Brett nods. “You do. You and that ass, it’s all mine, isn’t it?” he asks as one of his hands delve over to the side so the fingers can trail up and down the crack of Aleks’ ass.

Aleks moans and drops his head to the side, for his mouth to hover over Brett’s ear. “It wouldn’t be anybody else’s, daddy,” Aleks moans against the shell. “I’m yours.”

“And I’m yours,” Brett whispers. “Get on your hands and knees for me, I wanna give that ass a very special kind of attention.”

Aleks can’t predict what Brett will do to him and with anybody else, he’s on top of it, he’s 10 steps ahead but no matter how entirely on board his mind is, he can’t reach that point with Brett. Aleks doesn’t want to predict what Brett will do next, he just wants Brett to do whatever he damn well pleases and Aleks will surrender - his mind, his body, his soul, whatever Brett wants.

 

He crawls off Brett’s lap to the other end of the couch and crosses his arms on top of the pillow, spreading his legs to present his ass to the man behind him. Aleks looks back at Brett over his shoulder and his breath hitches when Brett sits up on his knees to move behind his ass, his body trembling under his intense stare in anticipation for whatever amazing thing Brett will put him through.

Aleks’ eyes lid shut with a moan when Brett pushes his denim-clad erection against his ass and he drops his head into the pillow to calm himself but then Brett’s wet lips flutter against his shoulders, glide along his skin, and he has to resort himself to that near pleasurable demise by Brett’s being.

_I’m yours._

Brett murmurs, “so beautiful”, along Aleks’ skin as his hands move under Aleks to grab his thighs, pressing his nails through the black fabric and wringing it tightly. He leaves a trail of kisses to Aleks’ ear and nips at the lobe, kisses it better before whispering a promise; “I’m gonna wreck every beautiful thing about you.”

“Destroy me,” Aleks whimpers. “Give it to me, daddy, _please.”_

“Soon,” Brett assures. “Gotta open you up first.”

It’s good that Brett has enough rational thinking between the both of them right now that he can’t just shove into Aleks with no preparation but like, does Aleks really need it? He can deal with the pain in the morning and the possibility that he won’t be able to walk, he just needs Brett inside him and he feels so empty otherwise - he doesn’t feel like himself.

In the atom of life, Aleks is the nucleus at the center and Brett is the cloud of electrons that surround him and fill his senses but despite that, Aleks is still searching for more, more of _Brett._ He’s desperate to fill that outer shell so he can be complete again.

Each kiss Brett leaves down the curvature of his back is another shock that brings Aleks back to reality and prevents him from getting lost in his thoughts, thoughts of _is this real?_ or _I need him in me right now._ Aleks is waiting to see what the hell Brett has planned but then he’s hit with a bigger round of lightning when he feels a wetness at his hole. These rounds shock his chest and travel the downward current to his crotch, lights his system on fire, and Aleks throws his head back with a cry in response.

“Oh fuck, _fuck me,_ Brett!” he cries.

“We’ll get to that,” Brett chuckles and it rumbles against Aleks’ ass. He kisses his hole before he presses his face right in between his cheeks, closes his eyes and presses his tongue flat on the opening to slick it with his spit and he moans at Aleks’ musky taste.

Aleks’ eyes screw tighter shut and he uncrosses his arms so he can grab tightly onto the arm of the couch. His nails scrape against the black leather and the screeching noise actually saves him from going totally crazy as Brett eats him out, though Aleks isn’t sure how long that’ll fare. He can keep it together for pretty much any other sexual act but as soon as a hot tongue pokes and prods at his hole, he falls apart.

 

Brett peers at the back of Aleks’ head as he tantalizingly licks up his crack and then he sinks his teeth into one of his asscheeks, biting hard (so Aleks knows it’s real!) and grinning at the high pitched moan that escapes his mouth. It’s a pretty noise and he wants to hear it again, so he gives him a harsh spank and when Aleks cries out his pleasure, Brett actually laughs - it’s almost evil sounding. Aleks would be embarrassed if it were anybody else.

“You love being spanked, don’t you?” Brett asks. “Want another?”

“Please, daddy,” Aleks whines and tries to push himself back. “One more, _one more.”_

Brett’s voice comes out in a smooth, low tone as he says, “you deserve a lot more than that” and then he spanks Aleks, and again, and _again,_ and **_again_ **until Aleks’ cry borders on a broken scream.

“Did you like that?” Brett asks. “Think we should do one more for the-”

“No, _no,”_ Aleks whimpers and shakes his head. “Just open me up now, do it so you can fuck me.”

Brett didn’t even spank him with all the strength he has and Aleks really wants to know what that’s like but his ass is burning already and he doesn’t wanna be tired before they reach their main event. Hell, they just reached the midcard portion of the night and Aleks would hate to be too sore for Brett to fuck him. _Again._

“Okay, okay, I’ll be nice,” Brett sighs and brings his head back down to Aleks’ ass. “Really wanna keep eating you out too, you taste so fucking good, dude.”

“Th-Thanks,” Aleks breathes out in a shudder as Brett’s wet tongue proceeds to circle around his opening again.

Aleks is fighting so hard to stay within some boundary of calm and collected but then Brett’s tongue pushes inside his hole and Aleks can no longer resist. He succumbs to the tempting darkness of passion and drowns in it, throws his head back with a loud, broken cry as he pushes back on Brett’s tongue.

Brett’s hand clamps harder on Aleks’ thigh and his nails drag harshly against the fabric of the thigh highs to sink into the skin underneath before he brings that up to hold his ass open. As Brett sucks at his hole, swirls his tongue along his inner walls, his other hand moves downwards to the crotch of his jeans so he can attempt to undo them with one hand..

… and he’s successful! It takes a few minutes but he could probably do it quicker if he wasn’t focused on making Aleks come apart by his tongue, not that he has to because Aleks has already fallen off the edge and he’s crying out on the way down.

 

“Brett, _Brett,_ your mouth, oh my god,” Aleks moans, “it’s so good, _you’re so good_ , I fucking… fucking… fuck, _fuuuck.”_ He bites down hard on his lips with another moan and snakes his hand underneath to play with his own nipple - he’d jerk himself off but he wants to save that for when Brett fucks him. He’s gone basically 2 weeks without touching himself and it’s been hard, still is, but it’ll be so worth it when Brett pushes the entirety of his thick cock inside him and then, only then, will Aleks give himself that pleasure.

Brett pushes his jeans down enough to expose his briefs and while his cock is still trapped within the confines of its cotton prison, it has a bit more room to breathe. Brett moans at the instant relief and brings that hand up to Aleks’ hole, replaces his tongue with a finger so it can poke inside, thrust in and out as Brett licks around the rim. His tongue presses back inside alongside his finger every so often but he has a good system going on, his finger stimulating the inside of Aleks while his tongue gives the opening much needed attention.

“Mmm, how bad do you want daddy?” Brett asks as he lids his eyes open to stare at the back of Aleks’ head.

“More than anything, Brett, please, _please,_ fuck me,” Aleks pleads. “Take me upstairs right fucking now and _fuck me,_ please.”

“Are you sure you’ll be able to take it?” Brett raises an eyebrow right as he pushes a second finger all the way inside. “I know you want it, but-”

“ **You fucking asshole** ,” Aleks grits through his teeth, “shut the fuck up and **fuck me** , I waited 2 god damn weeks for you and you’re not gonna fucking tease me like that right now, don’t even fucking try it-”

“Oh god, okay, I get it.” Brett sits up with widened eyes and holds up his hands in defense before he stands up from the couch. “But you seemed really into the rimjob, I figured-”

“I don’t give a _fuck_ , dude,” Aleks groans and rolls onto his back, moving a hand down to feel at his wet, open hole. “Somebody could come in here right fucking now and give me like, a million dollars not to fuck you and I wouldn’t fucking take it, that’s how much I need it at this point.”

Make no mistakes, that was a phenomenal rimjob and part of what made it so damn hot was how into it Brett seemed. He wasn’t going through the motions or doing things for the sake of how hot he’d find them but because they’d bring Aleks pleasure. It’s sort of been a theme, actually, how much he focuses on getting Aleks off - it’s not just for Brett, not just for Aleks, but for the _both_ of them.

So Aleks appreciates how much care is being put into this but also, like, he really wants to appreciate Brett’s dick being put into him.

 

“Shit, you need me that bad?” Brett chuckles as he grabs his briefs to push them down his legs, kicks them off with his jeans to be fully naked.

_More than anyone and anything._

“Uh?” Aleks looks back and forth before he sits up on the couch. “Fuck yes?”

“Ah.” Brett nods and stands at the edge of the couch so he can grab the back of Aleks’ thighs. “But what we did just now was worth all the extra waiting, wasn’t it?”

Aleks looks off to the side as he wraps his arms around Brett’s neck. “Well… yeah, all that was fun. I like being told how hot I am in every single way.”

Even if Aleks will never see himself the way Brett does, to hear Brett tell him all of those things with raw honesty was an incredible experience. So long he’s admired Brett for so many things and even when his crush wavered, that admiration was and is constant.

Brett is hard working and cares for his friends. He’s always striving to make himself a better person, whether it’s actually himself or his work, and the man doesn’t seem to have an off switch. Even on days when he relaxes, there’s still an urge within him to do _something_ and he’s an inspiration, he really is.

He’s so damn nice and sweet too. Sure, he can be real sensitive and Aleks thinks he can get too defensive but Brett just has a lot of emotions and he isn’t afraid to express them. Brett wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s both a blessing and a curse but Aleks finds it more of a blessing. It allows Aleks to open up with Brett and be completely honest, he can let go of that raw emotion and tell Brett everything he thinks.

He wouldn’t be here without Brett and he certainly wouldn’t be the proclaimed amazing person that Brett thinks he is if it wasn’t for his guidance.

_… what would happen to me if we never met?_

 

“That was just the start of it,” Brett mumbles as he hoists Aleks into the air and Aleks wraps his legs tightly around Brett’s waist so he doesn’t fall. “I told you how hot you were but now?” He raises his eyebrows with a grin and says, “I gotta show you.”

Aleks hums and looks down to Brett’s lips, tilting his head. “Then you better show me real quick.”

“We’ll start right now, baby,” Brett whispers before he closes his eyes and leans forward to initiate a deep kiss with Aleks and Aleks moans the instant their lips perfectly lock onto each other, tightening his limbs around Brett and pressing hard with his mouth in an attempt to be as close they can until they can _really_ be as close as they can.

 

Brett is the only entity, out of everyone and everything, that Aleks’ mind will acknowledge and even though he’s back, that hasn’t changed. In this world of vivid colors, the neon lights in the clubs and natural scenery of the all amazing earth, they go under a monochromatic filter and cease to be significant. Their tones are dull and indistinguishable but not Brett - Brett is all living color.

He’s Aleks’ home, simply put, but as Brett carries Aleks up the stairs to his bedroom, Aleks starts to wonder… _what else is Brett to me?_


	32. You Are My World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks and Brett have a serious talk about their friendship after some seriously hot sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It. Is. HERE.
> 
> And it. Is. HOT.
> 
> [And there are so many feelings too.]

****_“You’re a good kid,” Brett tells Aleks. “Lemme take care of you.”_

_“Alright, fine.” Aleks rolls his eyes. “You can take care of me.”_

_“It’s what you want, right? A big, strong guy-”_

_“Shut the fuck up.” Aleks chuckles and sits up on the couch. “Haven’t found another date, by the way.”_

_“We’ll find you one in LA,” Brett offers. “Guys here are so much hotter. Trust me.”_

_“Because you know so much about other guys, right?”_

_“More than you think.”_

_“Suuuuure.”_

_“But yeah, you can move in with me. I’ll fly down to Colorado and help you move shit out when the day comes.”_

_“Thank you,” Aleks says quietly. “For everything.”_

_“Anything for you, Aleks.”_

Aleks had no idea the impact that suggestion would have on his life and he certainly wouldn’t have expected it to lead to him lying naked on the edge of Brett’s bed, with Brett standing at the edge in between his legs, as naked as he is, his thick erection grinding against Aleks’ own as his hot mouth fervently attacks Aleks’ neck.

 

It was supposed to be a temporary stay.

Brett was supposed to be straight.

They were supposed to just be close friends.

But the opposite has happened and Aleks doesn’t even want to envision what his life would be like right now if it had gone the way he originally thought - that he’d stay for a month or two, maybe he and Geoff would be together longer and Brett would’ve found a woman of his own but all of _this?_ And what is all of _this_  anyways?

All of _this_  consists of all of the moments that have led to this point.

The lingering looks and touches that successfully cover feelings, the conversations shared about the trials and tribulations of friendships, relationships, the entire fundamental concept that is _life,_ and the obvious in stolen kisses, whether they’re quick or go for seconds, for minutes longer than they should.

There’s another world out there where Aleks and Brett aren’t so close like this. Aleks gets that apartment with no problems and he and Brett continue on like normal but that isn’t a world Aleks wants to live in and he’ll never think about what it’s like. There are endless degrees and variations of universes to explore, where one little thing can change the entirety of the world as a whole, but Aleks is completely fine with this one.

Out of all the worlds continuously transformed by unceasing interactions of internal and external forces, this is the one Aleks is in and he is _so_  grateful.

Besides, he doubts that Brett is about to fuck him in all the other universes and when the fuck is he going to fuck Aleks anyways, that’s what he brought him up here for in the first place! At least he’s going to fuck Aleks tonight - like that’s not a possibility, that’s 100% fact.

 

“Please fuck me,” Aleks breathes. “Fill me up again, daddy.”

“Had to leave another mark on you, baby,” Brett mumbles as he lets go of Aleks’ neck to look over the new hickey - it’s on the other side of his neck and presents right above his collarbone. Much easier to cover, if that’s what Aleks wants (but he won’t). “But I still gotta open you, just a little bit.”

“Just do it quick,” Aleks says as Brett reaches over to look for the lube in his nightstand. He spreads his legs and crosses an arm behind his head, the other hand moving down the front of his body so he can run his hand over his length with a small moan. “Fuck, don’t try to get me off or anything, just open me up.”

“Don’t try to get me off,” Brett repeats with a chuckle as he closes the drawer. “I’ve never heard that one from somebody before.”

Aleks looks down the length of his body to see Brett’s thickness, just as aching hard as he is, and glistening at the tip with an abundance of precome. He breathes in deeply as he slowly sits up on the bed to get a better look and he begins to hype himself up to lean forward and take it into his mouth - at least Brett will be inside him in some way. He’ll get the added bonus of Brett’s taste too, a benefit that a blowjob has over actual sex itself.

He swallows hard as he sits up on his knees, resting his hands right in between. “I’ll get off when you fuck me,” Aleks reasons. “Shit, dude, you’re gonna fuck me so good and I can’t fuckin’ wait.”

“You’ve expressed that a few times,” Brett says. “But I can’t wait either, that was a long fucking 2 weeks.” He blows out a breath and widens his eyes, shaking his head while he pops the cap open to drizzle the lube over his fingers. “Though that video you sent me, in _these,”_ he points out as he brings his other hand to grab the fabric of the thigh highs, pulling it up and letting it snap back against Aleks’ skin, “well, it made those weeks more bearable. You looked sexy as fuck - still do.”

Aleks rubs at the spot the socks snapped back against before he grasps the edge of the bed, lowering himself onto his stomach. “Really thought I looked sexy? How sexy?” he asks, glancing up to the man above him as he moves his head forward to kittenishly lap at the head and the instant Brett’s precome settles on his tongue, he can’t help the soft mewl that rises from his throat.

 _He tastes so fucking good,_ **_fuck,_ ** _I missed him so much._

“So goddamn sexy, fuck,” Brett moans and his eyes briefly lid shut before they open to watch the hot sight located down below. “This is awesome, but how am I supposed to open you up if you’re gonna blow me?”

Without taking his mouth off the prize, Aleks brings a hand back to grab one of his asscheeks. He gives it a good jiggle, then a spank before he spreads his legs to slightly push his ass into the air. Aleks looks up to Brett once more and raises an eyebrow as he presses an open mouth kiss to the tip, sucking briefly while he sways his hips side to side.

“Alright, I got the picture now,” Brett says raggedly as he leans his upper body over Aleks to spank his ass and he groans when Aleks’ moan vibrates around his length, stimulates his nerves. “Yeah baby, give that pretty ass to me.”

Aleks’ eyes close and he brings up a hand to wrap the fingers around Brett’s length, steadily jerking him off in times with the bobs of his head. His lips already burn from the stretch of Brett’s cock but that, much like how it’ll feel when Brett pushes inside, is only a wonderful reminder of the last time they’ve done this, a reminder of how full Brett makes him, and more importantly, it’s a reminder of how far they’re finally allowing themselves to go with each other.

Aleks clenches when the lube spreads over his hole but his ass relaxes in time for Brett to push a finger inside and he loudly moans around Brett as his finger returns to its quick exploration from earlier. He doesn’t let the sensation get to him though, doesn’t let it detract from the other matter at hand - getting a good taste of Brett.

 

It’s a stirring mixture of salty and musky and when the aroma wafts along Aleks’ nose, he _whines,_ he whines and tries to take him in further to get a better taste because he wants so much more, he wants his senses to be flooded in Brett until his body is no longer him but just an extension of this majestic, manly man, serving as an instrument that aids in his pleasure and his pleasure only and it would mean being restricted from anybody else but Aleks can’t even think of anybody else he’d give himself up to, not in this moment, not _ever._

“You can do it, baby,” Brett praises. “Take all of me, make daddy proud.”

Aleks wants to so badly but Brett’s so thick and Aleks can only take so much and he hates it, he whines again because he can’t give Brett exactly what he’s looking for but Brett pushes another finger inside him and Aleks doesn’t know how, didn’t even fucking know it was there, but it presses a button inside him that forces him to bypass the anxieties that come along with his gag reflex and sends shots of adrenaline through his veins.

He pulls back to the head with a groan and whacks it a few times against his lips before he rubs the head all along his mouth. “Really think I can, daddy?” Aleks breathes. “You think I’ll be able to take all of this for you?”

“If your ass can, then I know that pretty fucking mouth can too,” Brett groans as he gives Aleks’ ass another spank, then another before he jiggles the flesh. The hand quickly raises to thread into the back of Aleks’ hair and his fingers rake tightly through the strands as he tugs Aleks’ head forward. “But your best is all I’m asking for.”

Aleks needs to prove to Brett that he’s a _good boy._ He can do what Brett says, he can please Brett like he wants, he can do it all and he can do it so much better than anybody else so he stares down at the tip, looks it right in the slit as he takes deep breaths to prepare himself to take the entirety of Brett’s length and before he can contemplate what’ll happen to his poor throat, he closes his eyes and dives right in.

He takes one inch, two inches, three, and his mind shuts off after that so he isn’t wondering how the fuck he can deepthroat Brett when he’s as thick as he is, jesus, the fact that Brett was able to push inside him at all is still a miracle but miraculously, it was possible - just like Aleks deepthroating him is possible.

It feels like the culmination of everything Aleks has worked towards. Dropping out of college, dealing with YouTube’s terrible policies, all of that shit that went down with the Creatures, it has all somehow led to him being able to deepthroat Brett at this precise moment. Brett’s loud, shuddering moan echoes in Aleks’ ears and a sense of gratification washes over him.

_I’m your good boy._

 

He pulls back up to gag and cough to get his breath back after a few seconds _but he did it,_ he finally did it, and who knows what more he can accomplish from this point!

Pressing a hand on his throat soothes the slight strain but then Aleks becomes enraptured with every fucking thing else going on with his body. Deepthroating Brett took all of his adrenaline and now he’s aware of the furious, yet calculated thrusting of Brett’s fingers (plural!) inside him and then they crook inside him, they brush over that spot and Aleks slams his eyes shut with a piercing moan that crosses into a loud cry as he wrings the comforter in his hands.

He grits his teeth together and tries to hold back for a minute or two because he knows he still needs to be opened and it feels great, it really does, but so is the feeling of Brett’s cock stretching him wide open so he gives in pretty quick.

“Brett, _please,”_ Aleks pleads. “I deepthroated you, dude, I deserve to be fucked.”

Slowing his fingers to a stop, Brett concurs with, “I am definitely not denying that,” and removes the fingers so they can instead trail up and down along the crack of Aleks’ ass and Aleks pushes back in response.

“So are you gonna fuck me?” Aleks asks, biting at his lips to curtail growing frustration.

_If he fucking teases me one more time..._

“I’m asking you honestly - are you ready for it?”

“I’ve been thinking about having you inside me all day,” Aleks admits in a low tone as his gaze flickers up to Brett. “Just like, all fucking week, and the week before that. I promise, I’m ready.”

“Okay.” Brett nods and brings the hand that isn’t still latched into Aleks’ hair onto his shoulder. “There’s just one more thing I want though.”

“Anything,” Aleks breathes. “What do you need?”

“Get up here,” Brett tells him as he presses his nails into Aleks’ shoulder and Aleks takes the hint.

 

He begins to sit up on his knees and allows Brett to pull him up on his knees entirely but then his body sinks more onto his haunches as Brett presses down on his shoulder, forces Aleks to stare up into his eyes and Aleks waits patiently like the good boy he proved himself to be.

“Are you gonna continue to be a good boy for me?” Brett asks softly as the hand on Aleks’ shoulder moves to grab his chin, his thumb raising to graze along Aleks’ bottom lip and Aleks’ eyes lid shut as his tongue slips out to sneak a quick taste.

“I promise,” Aleks whispers, grabs tightly at the thigh highs encasing his legs and he stresses the fabric. “You think I’m a good boy, don’t you?”

“I know you’re a good boy,” Brett answers as he loosens his grip. “Just wanted to hear you say it.” And then he drops his head against the front of Aleks’ neck so he can press his tongue flat against the column of his throat and Aleks gasps at the sizzling wetness that simmers on his skin, eyes flashing open with desire before they quickly fall back shut.

“I’ll always be your good boy, daddy,” Aleks whimpers.

“Oh yeah?” Brett rasps, his lips continuing their slow, almost sensual ascent up Aleks’ neck.

“Yes, Brett,” Aleks says with more clarity. “You’re my daddy and I’m your good boy.”

“Mmm, I do like the sound of that,” Brett purrs and his voice rumbles against Aleks’ neck, carries up to Aleks’ jaw, his mouth, and Aleks’ hum borders on another whimper, he shivers like he’s in below freezing temperatures when Brett’s hot breath ghosts over his parted lips, Brett’s own barely touching his, so damn close that they’re breathing each other’s air and _give me more, daddy, please!_

“Open your mouth,” Brett demands in a whisper.

Aleks obeys without protest.

“That’s my good boy,” Brett praises before he kisses Aleks’ chin, then the corner of his lip, and his tongue leisurely rolls along Aleks’ bottom lip to kiss the other corner.

Aleks wants to capture Brett’s lips in a real kiss but he can’t because Brett still has a good grip on his hair and jaw so he’s locked in place, he can’t do anything about it but be thankful for what he is getting from him and it’s better than nothing at all. He moans his appreciation for every touch and he wrings his fingers in his thigh highs, pulls harshly at them and his toes curl within the fabric, thighs tensing and pushing together as he fights to _be good._

After what seems like hours of Brett’s mouth doing everything _but_  kissing, Brett finally relents… to leave Aleks a rather simple kiss, but it lingers and it satisfies Aleks enough. He mewls into Brett’s mouth and allows Brett to dominate his lips until he pulls away and when he does, Aleks breathes out a lovely “thank you” against Brett’s mouth.

 

“No, no, thank _you,”_ Brett reflects with a small smile as he lets go of Aleks completely. “Now let’s finally get down to this, fuck, I’ve been waiting to be inside you ever since you left to go back home. Lay back for me.”

“Could’ve just fucked me in the shower,” Aleks reasons as he lies back on the bed, spreading his legs. “But you had to be a big man-”

“You were sore and I wouldn’t have felt like a big man, mentally, if I literally destroyed your ass.”

“I’d be perfectly fine with you being the last person to fuck me,” Aleks says with a shrug as he watches Brett grab ahold of his cock, and he rolls his eyes with a groan when Brett just rubs it against his ass instead of pushing it inside him, _come the fuck on, old man!_ “Brett, dude, fuck me, what the _fuck_  are you-”

“You’re fucking ridiculous, dude, one minute you wanna be my good boy and then the next, you’re giving me shit like, what the fuck are you trying to do here?”

It’s a very valid point but if Brett is going to shift from being an irresistible daddy to Aleks’ close friend that he can joke around with, why can’t Aleks do the same? Who says that their sex has to be some obscene display that makes even the dirtiest pornstars blush? Being a good boy is hard work too, especially for somebody like Aleks who is, you know, _not_  a good boy at all and before Brett, being submissive wasn’t even something he’d jump into but Brett just has that key to stick into Aleks’ ignition to make Aleks do whatever he wants and yes, it’s as sexual as it’s supposed to sound.

Honestly? He wouldn’t mind being submissive with Brett a lot more. With Brett, it doesn’t feel degrading, it just feels… natural, like this is what their roles are supposed to be with each other.

 

“What am I trying to do here? I’m trying to get fucked!” Aleks exclaims.

“You’re going to get fucked!” Brett exclaims back, glancing from Aleks back down to his cock and shaking his head. “Okay, I’ll give you a little something then…”

“And what’s that?” Aleks scoffs. “You’re gonna - oh, ohhh, yes…” he lids his eyes shut with a moan as the head of Brett’s cock pushes past the rim and the moan escalates louder when Brett gives him an inch or two along with it. “Oh fuck…”

It’s not the entire thing but it will definitely placate Aleks’ bitching for now. It’s barely all of Brett, barely _any_  of Brett but even that sliver is enough to calm Aleks down, reassures him that Brett will be back inside, filling him up, and clouding his senses real soon.

“Okay, you’re a lot more tight than I remember you being.” Brett breathes out a chuckle and presses his hands on the backs of Aleks’ thighs, moving them up along the thigh highs so his legs were spread in the air and he holds onto his knees from the front. “Anyways, if you’ll let me continue-”

“I’m sorry, daddy~” Aleks says in a sickeningly sweet tone as he opens his eyes to look up into Brett’s and he swipes his tongue along his lips as he rests his hands on top his pecs. “I’ll be good from now on, I promise,” he says with a smirk.

Brett rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I know you’re gonna try to be difficult again but I’ll just fuck it out of you, so go ahead and get it out of your system.”

“I will be good!” Aleks chides. “You-”

“ANYWAYS,” Brett interjects, “I’m gonna push inside you all the way right here and then I’m gonna pick you up and fuck you against the wall. Cool?”

Aleks blinks a few times and furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head. “Like… you’re gonna fuck me? While I’m in the air?”

“I mean, I’m gonna be holding onto you-”

“Jesus christ, dude,” Aleks breathes out as he rests his head fully on the bed, looking off to the wall - their next destination.

Brett swallows and looks to the wall as well. “Uh, but if that’s too much, we could-”

“Not at all,” Aleks laughs. “Dude, no way, it’s just like… that’s the hottest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever heard from you. Fuck _yes,_ dude,” he laughs again and looks up to Brett, absolutely beaming. “Pick me the fuck up and fuck me the fuck up.”

There’s a sense of deja-vu that permeates his being when he says that but for the life of Aleks, he can’t recall a time where he’s ever said that, but it _is_ a huge fantasy of his coming to life so maybe that’s what that sensation is - utter joy at the idea of a long seated fantasy turning into a reality.

Brett and his big, strong arms are going to be holding Aleks up and Aleks has to trust that Brett and his phenomenal upper body strength won’t let him down, literally? If that isn’t the best fucking display of Brett’s strength mixed with the hottest fucking sex position they could ever do with each other, then Aleks doesn’t know what else is!

So many times he’s wondered what it’d be like for a man to just manhandle him against a wall and there’s a lot of fun to be had with being fucked against a wall. Aleks really enjoys being bent against it and hammered into and oftentimes, there’ll be spanking and dirty words uttered into his ear but never, not once, has a man actually _picked him up_  and here Brett is, casually suggesting it like he and Aleks are talking about what to add to the grocery list.

 

Brett chuckles and gives Aleks a thumbs up. “Sweet. So should I take my time pushing in or-”

“Fucking give it to me, bro,” Aleks demands in a breath. “Just push in right now, give me every _fucking_  thing.”

“What if it-”

“I don’t give a fuck if it hurts, dude,” Aleks whines and fists his hands into the sheets as he looks up to the ceiling in exasperation. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Right now? I fucking need you inside me.” And then he remembers that, technically, Brett _is_  inside him and with another eye roll, he adds, “I mean like, _all_  of you inside me.”

Brett closes his eyes and rolls his lips back with a moan. “Fuck, okay, that’s all I need to hear.” He opens his eyes and looks down between them, taking a deep breath as he swivels his hips. “Just breathe for me, alright? Relax… that’s it, baby…”

Aleks can feel the stretch of his ass as it tries and succeeds to accommodate Brett’s size. His eyes squint together until he can barely see, his breath is bated, and his mouth widens in a silent scream before the cocktail of pain and pleasure wracks through his body and forces a loud cry that cracks through the silence.

It hurts like it did the first time, but he was prepared for it and the pain is so worth it anyways if it means Brett completely taking over him and his senses again. The heartbeat Aleks feels isn’t his, but Brett’s, and the searing heat radiates from Brett and over Aleks to envelope him in desire.

To desire means there’s still more to have, to _want,_ and for Brett to feel it means that he and Aleks both share the idea that there is never too much of each other, even when they reach a point that they should be entirely saturated, it’s just not possible.

They don’t want to contemplate the past or future. They’d rather live in this extended present with each other, in which they dismantle the entire meaning of pleasure and remake it with their shared minds, their shared ideals, until the meaning of pleasure is solely each other.

 

“God damn, I missed this,” Brett moans out loud and drops his head between his shoulders to gaze open-mouthed at Aleks, exhales a harsh sounding breath before he grits his teeth together. “Fucking love being this deep inside you.”

“You feel so fucking good, holy fuck,” Aleks’ gasp quickly ebbs into a whine and he slams his eyes shut as he threads his hands back into his hair. He pulls at the strands and with gritted teeth, he says, “let’s fucking do this shit already, fuck me against that fucking wall and make me yours.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice,” Brett mumbles as he brings his hands forward to grab Aleks’. “Wrap your arms around my neck, hold on tight.”

Aleks lets go of his hair and wraps his arms around Brett’s neck when Brett hunches over his body and in an instant, the security that the soft plush comforter provides him shifts into that of competing excitement and uncertainty when the air of the room hits his bare back, but the security quickly comes back to override the uncertainty as Brett’s big, strong hands grasp tightly at his upper thighs, his arms under the back of Aleks’ knees and Aleks’ legs hanging over his arms.

It’s not that which reassures Aleks, but the easy way Brett carries him from the bed and over to the wall. His steps don’t falter once, as if he’s carrying nothing at all, and there’s a great deal of arousal that stirs within Aleks at the notion that Brett can so easily manhandle and contort him, he could reduce Aleks into a sex slave if he really wanted to but instead he’s so sweet, he’s so caring, and he’s always looking out for Aleks and his safety - not that those things are necessarily mutually exclusive, but it’s the principle.

The cool texture of the wall makes contact with Aleks’ back and it’s a contrast to the warmth of Brett’s hands and his natural body heat that he now shares with Aleks but the contrast continues to dwindle when Aleks looks back into Brett’s peerless eyes and he feeds deep, deep upon his fiery gaze, his soul tastes the desperation of Brett’s might and with that, they’re shifting back from the cool, bickering friends they usually are and into a much more dirty camaraderie.

 

“Anybody ever fuck you like this before?” Brett asks as he sinks his nails into Aleks’ thighs, drags them downwards and the fabric slightly tears in the process under his strength.

Aleks shakes his head. “N-No,” he says quietly. “You’re the first.”

With a chuckle, Brett begins with slow thrusts and he lulls his head back with a long moan, eyes falling shut. “Then let’s keep it like that,” he breathes.

Aleks closes his eyes with a long moan of his own and his head leans back, hits the wall with a soft bump and there’s pain that sends through him but his mind fails to recognize it. After so long without Brett (2 weeks!), his body went into withdrawal and now that it’s finally getting a full taste of him again, his entire being won’t rest until it gets its fix.

Brett blinks his eyes open and looks down between them, groans at the sight of their joined bodies. “I wish you could be me right now, baby,” he says. “Because you’re so fucking hot and I fucking wish you could see yourself the way I do,” he breathes out a chuckle and shakes his head before he glances up to Aleks. He begins to bring Aleks down onto his cock, still maintaining the same speed with his own thrusts but he enters Aleks quicker and it makes Aleks moan that much more.

“But then I wouldn’t be able to feel you so deep in me,” Aleks argues as he opens his eyes to stare into Brett’s. “I wanna feel you inside me, more than I do with anyone else.”

“And trust me, there’s nobody I’d rather be in right now than you,” Brett concurs. “Don’t even want anybody else to see you like this. I mean, I want them to see how hot you are but I want this to be for my eyes. Yeah, no,” Brett shakes his head, “I’m the only one that gets to see you like this.”

It’s all fuck talk, Aleks knows that, but god he wishes it was real. It’s rare that a first time with somebody could feel so damn good right out of the gate because you don’t know which buttons to press, you don’t know what turns them on, and it’s an incredibly hot guessing game but with Brett, it was perfect. Brett knew every single thing about Aleks and likewise. Aleks hasn’t had that replicated with anybody else - only Brett.

But for tonight, they belong to each other. Aleks is more than fine to continue acting under that belief.

 

“You wanna hear something hot?” Aleks asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Everything you say is hot, but go ahead.”

“You made me realize I was into guys,” Aleks mentions. “You know that already, but like, fuck,” he tries to breath out a chuckle but it turns into a moan and he tightens his arms around Brett’s neck, digs his nails into them for purchase and tries to cross his legs behind Brett. “I’d think about like, you taking my virginity and being my first and then you’d be the only one who’d ever get to fuck me.”

“Jesus christ,” Brett laughs and then he groans before he drops his head into Aleks’ neck. “Fuck, I should’ve realized I was into guys sooner. Could’ve made you **mine** ,” he gives a particular hard thrust inside Aleks, “that much sooner.”

“Oh god, I _am_  yours,” Aleks moans. “Please, daddy, fuck me harder, j-just like that, that was so good.”

The name makes Brett moan against Aleks’ neck and he bares his teeth before he latches onto the skin, right under his jawline and as he begins to suck yet another mark onto Aleks’ already marked up neck, he brings Aleks all the way to the tip of his cock before he slams him back down, doing it again and again and again and each slam pulls a cry from Aleks’ mouth, makes his nails dig harder into his own arms, and then Brett continues with a much steady pace.

“Fuuuck, thank you,” Aleks groans and tilts his head to the side to give Brett more access to do whatever he wishes with his neck. “God, you fuck me so good, daddy,” he breathes. “Faster, come on, really give it to me.”

Brett crushes the skin underneath with his teeth until Aleks cries out with pain and then Brett releases his neck with a moan, his hips hastening, their pleasure increasing. His hands slide up Aleks’ legs to grab onto his sides and it lets him press closer into Aleks’ body, forces Aleks’ legs closer to his own chest so that his knees are practically up by his pecs and he’s nearly bent in half against the wall, it makes his legs ache much more, but then Brett is so deep and though his legs are sore, they'll cramp up soon if they don’t move, he wants to stay like this for as long as he possibly can.

“You’re so fucking deep, Brett, holy fuck,” Aleks whines as he throws his head back against the wall, his lips permanently parted open as Brett fucks the harsh breaths and noises out of him.

“You like that, don’t you?” Brett moans as he watches Aleks, transfixed by the ecstasy laced noises that release from his mouth. “Like it when daddy fills you up, baby?”

“Yes, so much,” Aleks breathes out in a moan. “You stretch me so good, I don’t want it to end, daddy, _please,_ don’t let it end.”

“It’s only gonna end if you let it,” Brett tells him.“But daddy will make sure he never stops, not until you say.”

Brett says the words without any hints of character or bravado but Aleks is so overwhelmed by the ache in his legs and the unbelievable feeling of being full, _full of Brett,_ that the emotional undertones and deeper implications fly right past his head.

Though Aleks is trying his best to stay here for Brett’s sake, as well as his own because goddamn it’s hot as hell to be fucked like this, trapped between such a strong man and the wall, he’s not as active as Brett is. Brett could probably fuck him like this for hours and not feel an ounce of pain but with each every other second that passes, the idea of being fucked on a comfortable bed becomes much more preferable to Aleks.

 

“Br-Brett, stop,” Aleks says. “Fuck, I can’t.”

As Brett immediately comes to a stop, he squints his eyes at Aleks and asks, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, my legs are just getting tired,” Aleks manages a chuckle and looks past Brett’s shoulder to the bed. “Can we move this back to the bed?”

Brett blows out a breath in relief and leans forward to press a peck to Aleks’ lips before he turns around. “Yeah, of course. You had me worried, I thought I was doing something really wrong.”

“Fuck no,” Aleks scoffs. “You’re a fucking god, dude.”

Brett raises his eyebrows with a grin. “Well, thank you,” he says as he kneels up on the bed. “Good to know I haven’t disappointed.”

“You’re never going to disappoint, what the fuck?” Aleks actually laughs and takes his hands off of Brett so he can reach back for the pillows as he’s laid on his back. “You gave me the best sex I’ve ever had, you’re definitely gonna do it again,” he praises while propping the pillows beneath his head.

“Giving me way too much credit,” Brett argues, glancing from Aleks and down to his thighs as he presses his hands against them through the socks to massage them. “You uh, mind if I take these off?”

Aleks looks to Brett’s hands and furrows his eyebrows. “I thought you liked them?”

“I fucking love them, way too much,” Brett chuckles. “But as sexy as they are,” he shrugs and looks up into Aleks’ eyes with a smile, “I wanna feel all of you. Is that okay?”

Aleks blinks a few times before his lips turn up into the smallest of smiles. “More than okay,” he answers quietly.

He watches as Brett grabs the tops of one sock to carefully pull it down his leg and then his mind floats off into its own world, or rather just a few feet away from their current one because in both, Brett is still the very core of energy that the worlds run on. Aleks is submerged in the core’s heat and he’s losing all sense of himself as he becomes a part of it but there’s still something missing, there’s still more of that core that he wants to drown in and by the time Brett has those thigh highs off his legs, starts to run his hands up and down them, it… sort of helps with that but Aleks still needs _more._

Hopefully he’ll figure it out before they get done fucking tonight.

 

“Thought you were going to say no, honestly. Totally expected you to want me to literally tear them off you,” Brett admits as he raises one leg a bit higher up to kiss Aleks’ calve.

Aleks huffs a chuckle through his nose and shrugs. “You’re not wrong.”

“Wouldn’t have done it even if you asked,” Brett chuckles. “They’re too sexy to go to waste and uh…” he swallows and shrugs. “... I don’t know, maybe the next guy will find them as sexy as I do.”

Aleks’ lips thin into a line as he looks off to the side. The wall is blank and his thoughts project onto the space, all of the possible men he could be with - from those he knows to good looking strangers but none of them grab his interest. The holograms of every guy projected soon morph into one man, tattoos fading into nothingness, hairlines receding, and arms and thighs thickening until they all become Brett.

He looks back up to see Brett mouthing his affection for his legs, kisses fluttering against his pale skin and his hands soothing his aches as they sensually rub into the skin. Aleks lowers his leg from Brett’s mouth so he can press the both of them by his waist and when Brett gives him his attention, Aleks raises his eyebrows and rolls his lips back to wet them. “I don’t want you to be daddy right now,” he says in a pitch above a whisper. “I want you to be Brett.”

Brett’s expression is void for a few seconds until he registers what Aleks is saying, what Aleks really wants, and then the subtle nuances of delight display over his face and with a smile, almost relieved, he says, “right now? I’d rather you be Aleks too.”

“Start slow,” Aleks requests. “Let’s work our way back up.”

“I can do that,” Brett obeys and settles his arms on either side of Aleks, watching his face, Aleks watching his, as he starts back up with the exact kind of thrusts Aleks is looking for.

Brett’s thrusts are long, languid rolls of the hips and it should be torturous but the only torturous part is when Brett slides all the way out to the tip, and that’s quickly alleviated when his thick cock pushes all the way back to the hilt to fill Aleks completely. Everytime it happens, Aleks loudly breathes out a moan and just when he gets over it, he loudly breathes out another moan and it’s the most satisfying cycle he’s ever been a part of.

“Why do you feel so good?” Aleks asks in a whine as a hand reaches to hold onto Brett’s shoulder, the other resting right on his chest and his nails scraping along his skin.

 _“Why_ do I feel so good?” Brett breathes out a laugh and shrugs as he pulls out to the tip and then he slams back in with a moan. “Why do _you_  feel so good? Fuck, Aleks.”

“Like, I know it’s supposed to feel good,” Aleks gasps and takes a deep breath to calm himself. “But when you fuck me, it just feels so fucking right, I don’t even know.” He blinks open to look up at Brett to watch the pleasure contort his face, how it forces breaths to part his lips open, makes his eyes squint as he focuses on chasing that pleasure for a few seconds before Brett ceases to let the pleasure tie him down.

In a way, it looks as if he’s trying to figure out if all of this is real or just a vivid figment of his imagination, just like Aleks is, because how can something _so good_  be _so real_ but it is, and the only thing that reminds Aleks that it isn’t an imagination is the slow pace. Everytime he feels the drag of Brett’s thick cock along his inner walls, it lets Aleks know (for the millionth time), that they’re together again and he’s so thankful for it. He almost doesn’t want Brett to speed back up because that means it’ll come to an end that much sooner and it _can’t_  end, Aleks doesn’t want it to.

It’s like Brett said, it’ll only end if Aleks wants it too but he doesn’t. It’s all about Brett - he’s the one that decides whether or not this continues and the chances of that are highly unlikely.

“It’s like you said earlier, your ass was made for me to fuck it, right?” Brett chuckles and opens his eyes to look down into Aleks’ and as he swipes his tongue along his lips, he speeds up his thrusts. “Maybe that’s why it feels so damn good, because I can’t… I uh, I can’t find any other way to explain it.”

Aleks’ eyes lid shut as he moans out, “oh god, _fuck me,”_ and he throws his head back against the pillow. “My ass is so fucking yours, Brett, fuck.”

Brett takes this as more motivation to fuck Aleks faster so he quickens his thrusts again and shit, Aleks didn’t know he needed it faster but he definitely does after that and he loudly cries out his pleasure as his hands move to grip onto Brett’s sides.

“Yes, yes!” Aleks moans as he arches his back. “Brett, fuck me, _Brett-”_

“Fuck yeah, Aleks, moan my name, just like that,” Brett groans as he moves a hand to hold onto the back of Aleks’ hair, his other hand wringing the comforter for purchase as he lowers his body more onto Aleks’. “God, the sounds you make… fuck, it makes me so fucking weak. You sound so damn hot.”

 _“Brett,”_ Aleks moans again, for Brett’s pleasure and also because Brett’s name is quickly becoming the go to word for his mind in this sexual state. “Fuck me harder, please, Brett, _please_ , give it to me!”

“Whatever you want.”

Brett really begins to slam into Aleks now and while he’s still holding back, there’s no denying the strength behind his thrusts. He’s fucking Aleks hard enough now that his balls are slapping against Aleks’ ass and the bed is starting to creek underneath them, the headboard is shaking, but it’s simple background noise to the erotic arrangement of melodious moans from Aleks and the harmonizing groans from Brett.

Aleks can’t remember the last time he’s ever been fucked so good… okay, that’s a lie, Geoff knew what he was doing but as much of an expert as he was, he’s like a fucking amateur compared to Brett. Brett hasn’t been at this long either but his cock is so thick and his noises are the most addicting tune and of course, the way he fucks Aleks is… amazing. Astonishing. Phenomenal. Incredible. Wonderful. Impressive. Marvelous. Perfect, and even the last one doesn’t perfectly pontificate how he fucks. It is just beyond description.

Those men don’t care for Aleks as much as Brett does too because even though Aleks is moaning Brett’s name and crying out loud with each thrust, Brett sees that Aleks isn’t jerking himself off and he goes to do something about it. He brings his free hand from the bed over to Aleks’ cock but as soon as Aleks feels that hand on his length, he grabs it and forces it back onto the bed with a groan.

 

“Stop,” Aleks breathes. “Just fuck me, please,” he looks up into Brett’s eyes pleadingly, “fuck me and don’t stop, Brett.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t need that to come tonight, not with the way you’re fucking me.” Aleks shakes his head and closes his eyes when another loud cry tears from his throat and he throws his head back against the pillows once more. “Fuck! Just give it to me, _everything,_ don’t fucking hold back, Brett, fucking **fuck me**.”

“Want me to fuck you real hard?” Brett asks. “Fuck you stupid like you’ve been wanting, huh, Aleks?” He goes on in an almost taunting tone as he lowers his forehead onto Aleks’, his body lowered enough for their stomachs to press together.

 _“Please, Brett,”_ Aleks pleads. “Fuck me so fucking hard and make me **yours** , do it!”

And that’s when Brett finally gives Aleks everything he’s got, full strength and no mercy, and Aleks _screams_  into the room as his legs wrap around Brett’s waist, squeezing him as hard as he can, and he wraps his arms around Brett’s neck to hold onto him tightly and it forces Brett’s face into his neck. Brett growls as the primal, animalistic nature threatens to take over and keeping a hand on the back of Aleks’ head, he wraps his other arm around Aleks’ neck to keep them as close as they physically can while he gives Aleks that brutally hard fuck he’s been looking for.

“Fuuuck, _Brett,_ fuck, I missed this,” Aleks moans against his ear and moves a hand up to hold onto the back of Brett’s head, curls his fingers into the strands of hair. “You’re so amazing and you feel so good inside me, fuck, _I love when you’re inside me,”_ he whines and it’s so broken that it sounds more like a sob, “and _I missed you,_ I missed you so fucking much-”

“Shhh,” Brett shushes and moves his face up to peck Aleks on the lips. “It’s okay, I got you. Kiss me, c’mere.”

Aleks sighs through his nose in relief the instant their lips meet. There’s something different about this kiss than all of the others they’ve shared since that first - it still feels good, Brett still tastes like sugar with just the right amount of spice, but this kiss is… it’s everything a kiss should be and more.

It feeds his soul, his mind, and fills a void that’s been in fruition for a long time but has only become unbearable as of recently but now that void is filled. It’s filled with heat and the heat contains itself to his body, jumpstarts the metaphorical electric wire that runs alongside his veins and whatever this wire is, it diverts in a path to Aleks’ brain and sends a message of _complete._

_Whole._

In that instant, Aleks envisions it - the endless degrees and variations that he and Brett could be. What all of these possibilities have in common is that they are together as one, never to be torn apart. Seasons will change, people will come and go, but he and Brett are _constant._

 

They press in deep with their mouths, wanting to feel as much of the other as they can. Aleks tilts his head and slides his tongue into Brett’s mouth and Brett readily opens his to accept. Brett’s tongue stays back and it allows Aleks’ to explore, to stake his claim on whatever Aleks’ heart desires and his heart desires _everything._ He wants everything that Brett can give him but he, in turn, offers the same.

Brett tilts his own head so the kiss can deepen and Aleks pulls his tongue back to give Brett the opportunity to take over his mouth like Aleks did to his - a give and take, and Brett explores in the same way Aleks does, wants everything Aleks can give him. They slowly, very slowly, pull away but not before leaving one last, chaste, parting kiss. And another. And then another, and another after that, and it’s a flurry of short kisses with seemingly no end but it reaches that point eventually because then, it happens.

It happens so quick.

And it’s so good that Aleks doesn’t even register it at first.

Orgasms can be tricky to achieve sometimes, but even the chase is pleasurable. Sometimes your legs need to be a certain way, certain muscles must tighten, where and how you’re touched matters, but then the fireworks explode and the result is a stupefyingly loud display of pleasure that only an orgasm from that one special person can accomplish.

The pleasure is concentrated around Aleks’ cock at first until it triggers a switch that soon enables it to tear through the rest of Aleks’ body, turns him into a shell that houses divine pleasure. He’s warm to his fingers and toes and Brett just keeps fucking him, hammering into him, and each thrust is an aftershock that prolongs his orgasm, as well as the noises of ecstasy that elicit from his lips.

Aleks holds Brett close, for dear life, as he screams, “oh god, oh god, oh god!” and his eyes slam tighter shut. “Oh god, Brett, _Brett,_ don’t stop, Brett! It’s so good, oh god, _ohhh god,_ **fuck**!”

His load spills from his cock and onto his stomach, shoots up to his chest and collarbone and his scream lowers into a cry, then a moan, a whine, until it finally reaches a soft whimper… and it heightens into a whine when Brett keeps fucking him but Brett’s thrusts fall off their rhythm into an erratic, choppy mess with only one goal in mind - his pleasure.

 

“I’m close,” Brett breathes against his mouth. “Aleks, I’m so close, I just-”

“Keep fucking me,” Aleks breathes out as he moves his hands to the sides of Brett’s face. He raises Brett’s head and forces them to lock eyes as he says, “don’t stop until you fill me up.”

Both pairs of dark brown eyes bore into each other and the entire world around Aleks and Brett blur into monochrome. The electric wire in Aleks lengthens into Brett and sparks up again, their electric connection moving with haste through their bodies to further connect with each other and a revelation crosses Aleks and Brett’s mind, that they’re connected in every sense of the word right now.

They are two entities entwined in blisteringly hot circuitry that jumpstars their souls and melds them into one ultimate being powerful enough to serve as a vessel to house that fundamental force of _love_. While they are paralyzed by the powerful shocks, the love carries them and resuscitates their movements into fluid, seamless motions that help carry Brett into his own intense pleasure.

Brett breathes in sharply and grits his teeth as the pleasure tears through his body, his eyes threatening to lid close but he uses all the last strength he has to keep them open and stare at Aleks and his reward is an orgasm just as mind blowing as Aleks’. With a loud moan of Aleks’ name, the heat of his release empties against Aleks’ inner walls and though he’s as deep in Aleks as he can, Aleks feels him trying to push deeper, feels his big, strong arms tightening around him, and Aleks’ whole soul has never been so complete until right now.

When Brett finally finishes, his eyes flutter shut and he buries his face into Aleks’ neck. He mouths soft kisses along the sweaty skin and Aleks soothingly scratches his nails against the back of Brett’s scalp as he looks up into the ceiling, stares at the spinning fan - is it spinning? Or is that just his entire world?

No, it couldn’t be that, not when Aleks is already holding onto it.

 

After all of that, Aleks emerges with this sense that there were deep currents of adoration and passion sweeping not just through him, but through Brett as well. Or so he thinks, until Brett’s voice pierces through the silent afterglow.

“I need to pull out soon,” Brett breathes. “But I really don’t-”

“Then stay,” Aleks pleads. “Don’t go.”

Brett exhales a deep breath and looks up to Aleks before he rests his elbow on the pillow, his hand holding himself up and Aleks looks over, brings his hand over to rest over Brett’s cheek. His thumb moves back and forth along his beard and he looks Brett all over, takes in every single beautiful feature there is.

“I don’t wanna go,” Brett admits. “But I need to know what you’re looking for, Aleks.”

“Like… what do you mean?” Aleks asks as his eyebrows furrow together.

“Us,” Brett clarifies. “Is this like, just a one time thing or are we gonna do it a lot more, or…” he blinks a few times and licks along his lips as he looks down to Aleks’. “Like I said, what are you looking for?”

He’s curious as to what Brett was going to say before he trailed off, if there was gonna be another option besides the first two, at least. There probably wasn’t one and though Aleks knows exactly what he’s looking for, it’s what he’s been wanting with Brett since his sexual attraction arose again, that mysterious third option sounds so… _desirable._

But he doesn’t know what it is. And he doubts Brett even meant to introduce that, if it’s what he thinks.

“Just like, fucking around,” Aleks answers. “We can fuck each other, uh….” he rolls his lips back and looks down between them, narrows his eyes in quick thought before he gives Brett his attention. “But like, we can be exclusive.”

“You wanna fuck each other but be exclusive?” Brett asks, raising his eyebrows.

“I-It just makes sense, right?” Aleks swallows. “We’re both good at sex, and uh, this was awesome. Even more awesome than our first-”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah… and like, we live together so,” Aleks shrugs, “why not keep fucking each other until one of us wants more?” He swallows again and takes a deep breath. “Right?”

Brett clicks his tongue and looks down between them, his other finger of the other hand tracing nondescript patterns into the comforter. Aleks rolls his lips back as he watches Brett and tries to detect some sort of approval or disapproval to his suggestion and he hates not knowing if it’s 0% or 100%, two definite possibilities, and he wants to quickly make one of those possibilities happen - though the latter is preferable.

“I-I mean, only if you want to,” Aleks stutters. “You’re one of my closest friends and I don’t wanna make things weird but you’re also really important to me and you’re a big part of my life but the sex with you is fucking _amazing_ and I’ve never been fucked like that before and everything about you is fucking hot-”

His rambling is silenced when Brett places his mouth over his and Aleks is more than alright with this turn of events.

Brett holds Aleks’ cheek with his free hand as his lips lovingly caresses Aleks’. There’s no teeth or tongue, it’s as simple as kissing gets and that simplicity is what makes it beautiful and oh so gratifying. Aleks moans quietly and holds onto Brett’s hand, his other hand moving up to hold onto the back of Brett’s neck.

_Fuck, I wanna be his._

 

Brett presses in once before he pulls away and licks his lips to savor Aleks’ taste. When Aleks opens his eyes to stare into Brett’s, Brett offers him a sweet smile and he says, “relax, okay?”

And Aleks does.

“I want you to repeat after me, okay?”

Aleks raises his eyebrows in anticipation as he looks down to Brett’s lips.

Brett rolls his own back to wet them before he says, “I belong to daddy.”

Aleks blinks a few times, processing the words before going along with it. “I belong to daddy,” he repeats.

Brett nods. “Daddy belongs to me.”

Aleks squints his eyes in wonder before he looks up into Brett’s eyes. “Daddy… belongs to me.”

“Good boy,” Brett whispers. “Alright, so… all of that is fine with me,” he reveals. “We can fuck each other and it can be exclusively between us. I just need to know like, what we’re gonna do if one of us goes on a date and plans to get lucky. Do we tell each other or… or what?” he chuckles. “What are the boundaries to this?”

“Yeah.” Aleks nods. “We’ll tell each other. Like, if I’m gonna go on a date, I’ll tell you that I’m hoping to get together with them. And so will you.”

“What about condoms?” Brett asks. “Should I start wearing them-”

“Not with me.” Aleks shakes his head. “I…” he licks along his lips. “I love it when you come in me, like, a whole fucking lot.”

Brett chuckles and runs his hand back through Aleks’ hair. “Yeah uh, I’m a quite a fan of that too. So I wear them with everybody but you?”

“Uh huh,” Aleks answers. “And my dates will like, wrap their dicks up too. I’ll make sure.”

“Okay.” Brett nods. “So everything is basically normal? There’s just uh, a lot more sex between us now?”

“You cool with that?”

Brett snorts and nods. “So fucking cool with that. There’s just one more thing though.”

“Anything,” Aleks says. “What’s up?”

“I’m a cuddler,” Brett reveals with a smile. “Can I uh, you know,” he shrugs, “cuddle with you?”

“Wasn’t I the one that wanted to cuddle last time?” Aleks chuckles and leans up to peck Brett on the lips. “Mmm, wrap me in those big, strong arms, my dude.”

Brett licks his lips one more time before he sits up on his knees. He very slowly begins to pull out of Aleks and he groans when he pulls out entirely before he flops onto his back beside him. “Fuck, can we go at it again in the morning?” he suggests. “I miss being in you already. I’d do it right now but I’m fucking worn out, from the plane ride, from going out, to the fucking mind blowing sex-”

Aleks hisses at the initial pain but then he ends up chuckling at Brett’s words. “Yeah.” Aleks moves his hand down to feel at his empty hole while he sits up on his knees. “We’ll go at it again tomorrow. Mind blowing sex tends to wear me out too.”

Aleks grabs the covers and then lays back down beside Brett. When Brett wraps an arm around his shoulder to press him to his chest, Aleks allows the covers to fall over their bodies. He rests his head on top Brett’s chest and wraps his arm around his waist, moving a leg up to hide it between both of Brett’s and his eyes lid shut with a pleasing hum when Brett proceeds to run his fingers back and forth through his hair.

 

“Let’s sleep now,” Brett yawns as he rests his head back on the pillow. “We need all the energy we can for tomorrow morning.”

“We should do it doggy style,” Aleks proposes. “We haven’t done that yet.”

Brett chuckles and closes his eyes. “You’re speaking my language now. Anything else on the agenda?”

“Every position in the Kama Sutra?”

“That’s fair, but you need to be more specific.”

“Too fucked out to be specific,” Aleks argues. “You’re right, we should sleep now. We can talk about this tomorrow morning.”

Brett laughs and leans over to kiss the top of Aleks’ head. “Good idea,” he mumbles and closes his eyes completely. “Good night, Aleks.”

Aleks looks up to Brett, like he’s the only thing that matters in this world, and he whispers, “good night, Brett.”

Now that Brett’s eyes are closed, Aleks can take this opportunity to fully catalog the features of Brett’s face, from the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes to that small pimple by his nose. Every single thing, even the supposed flaws, make Brett incredibly beautiful and he’s a masterpiece that Aleks never wants to take his eyes off of - for if he takes his eyes off Brett, he has to return to the real world.

 

The real world passes through a monochrome filter but Brett is the ethereal technicolor the filter can not possibly dilute. Monochrome, sepia, rose-colored, none of it will ever dull Brett and from this night, this moment forth, he will forever stand out above all else - essentially, Brett is Aleks’ technicolor dream world.

Admittedly, there aren’t many things in this world of monochrome that Aleks wishes he could have. He’s relatively low maintenance and for the most part, he will do just fine with Netflix and some blueberry Poptarts but when he lays in Brett’s big, strong arms, he realizes that there’s still one thing he wishes he could have. It might be one thing but that thing, that _person_  is worth more than every single thing in this universe.

Aleks sighs through his nose and looks out the window of Brett’s room, the distant starlight bleeding through the open blinds. The moon is fully present, fully there, shining bright.

It’s interesting, actually, how the moon comes and goes whenever it pleases, in any form, but the stars in the night sky are always there. No matter what kind of night, the one constant are the stars. The stars will always be there, always waiting on the moon no matter what.

Aleks looks back over to Brett, the moon to his stars, and breathes in deeply. He closes his eyes and presses his face back into Brett’s neck so he can focus on going to sleep in his big, strong arms.

 

Aleks realizes two more things before he fully drifts off to sleep with Brett, before he wakes up tomorrow with Brett - his new life _with Brett_  like this, after they’ve fucked each other.

The first realization is easy - _I don’t ever want to go back to the way things were._

The second realization, however, is harder. It’s harder because Aleks has always pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, always casted them aside and thought they would never come back but he was able to do so because these thoughts simply could never be possible...

… the thoughts that him and Brett could be together.

Except Brett is into guys.

Guys like _Aleks._

Now he’s fucking Aleks - which was once a thought Aleks never thought could happen.

It’s a hard realization, but it’s one that Aleks has been holding off for a couple of months. This realization is the same thing that Brett has been thinking about with him for months. In fact, it’s the first thing Brett realized when he figured out that he liked Aleks...

… the realization of, _I wish he could really be mine._

 

Until tonight, Aleks didn’t realize how painfully dim the world was but after intertwining with Brett in perfectly hot symmetry, he’s fully aware of the electricity they now bring, because it’s the electricity that lights up the world. When Brett’s around him, colors that were so dull before are so much more vibrant, everybody’s motions are so much more fluid, and life is so much better now.

Life is better with _Brett._

And although life could be so much better _if I could be so much more with Brett,_ Aleks just thinks that this is the prologue of what’s to come between them.

 

The prologue is complete.

Now? Aleks is ready to fill the pages with his and Brett’s story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Wow. Wowie wow wow, 32 chapters and over 200,000 words later and the story is complete. It’s bittersweet for this to be ending, just because this has been the fanfiction I’m most proud of. I really feel like it showcases my writing skills and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted to see in a fanfiction too.
> 
> I started writing this fic because I wanted a HundarHD fic I know I’d like and it’s really heartwarming to know I’m not the only one who likes this fic so strongly. I’ve grown in my writing during the timespan of writing this fic and so many things have happened during the creation that I really wish I didn’t have to put it to a close.
> 
> Good thing there’s a sequel in the future to look forward to :’) This is only the prologue, after all. In the meantime, thank you to everybody who read this fanfiction and gave their kudos, subscriptions, comments, bookmarks, etc. It all means so much to me and I’m still in such awe that other people besides me like it!
> 
> Expect the sequel, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, to be released in early 2020~ Again, thank you all so much and I love you!!


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